From Rivalry to Romance
by Steel Fairy
Summary: Sonic and Mario always considered themselves bitter rivals. However, Sonic's inclusion in the third Super Smash Brothers tournament allows the two to bond; slowly becoming close friends. As the years pass by Sonic begins to realize his feelings for his ex-rival are more than platonic, something he doesn't want to willingly accept. Slow burn SonicxMario. Brawl-Sm4sh Era. Complete.
1. Welcome to the Smash Mansion!

**AN: Hello everybody!  
**

 **Welcome to my first ever fanfiction to be published on this site! And it's... a ship fic between Mario and Sonic?**

 **Yeah... I'm aware that's a little weird, but I honestly haven't seen too many fics about these two floating around. (Gee, maybe there's a reason for that, Steel) I could be here for hours talking about what possessed me to write this, but you guys came here to read a fanfiction, so that's what you're gonna get! All I ask for you guys going into this is to not take this too seriously, and no I don't ship this seriously, this is just something I'm writing thanks to a dumb headcanon that wouldn't go away. Also, something I should probably mention is that this could also be considered a crossover with Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, considering quite a few chapters take place during them.  
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 ** **And with that out of the way, enjoy I suppose?****

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 **07/08/17 Edit: Thank you for over 100 reviews! I appreciate every single one of you who took time out of your day to leave a few words, it really means a lot to me. :)  
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 _~From Rivalry to Romance~_

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 _~Chapter One: Welcome to the Smash Mansion!~_

The bus slowly made it's way up the gravel road, small pebbles crunching as the tires ran over them and the whole bus occasionally jumping thanks to random potholes in the ground. Sonic the Hedgehog - currently the buses only passenger - gripped the edge of the seat tighter as the bus lurched again, flicking his ears in annoyance before resuming what he'd been doing for the past twenty minutes, staring out the window longingly. With how fast he naturally was, Sonic probably could have made it to the fabled 'Smash Mansion' and back fifty times by this point, but according to the rules all competitors must arrive by bus. And while Sonic wanted to protest against such an outlandish rule, he kept his mouth shut and took the very slow transportation method out of the fear that he could possibly get disqualified. After all, he wanted to leave the rest of the fighters with a good first impression, and acting like a child was not the way to do it.

The bus driver - an anthropomorphic turtle who went by the name of Kapp'n - ceased his whistling and glanced in his rear-view mirror at Sonic, clearly wanting to start a conversation with his passenger.

"So yer a new face," Kapp'n noted, his voice raspy. "I recognize yer species, but I've never dropped off one of yer kind 'ere before though."

"That really doesn't surprise me," Sonic casually stated, lacing his hands behind his head.

"It would appear that ye need to be a top-form fighter to be invited 'ere," Kapp'n continued. "So I'm assuming ye fit that description?"

Sonic only shrugged. "I guess, considerin' I am a so-called hero."

"Several heroes have gathered 'ere," Kapp'n explained. "Even the most famed of them all, Mario!"

At the mention of _his_ name, Sonic's quills bristled and his lips curled into a snarl, his blood rising in temperature. He wasn't sure why, but at some point people had begun comparing the two together, causing the two of them to develop a mutual hatred of each other thanks to how often the other was brought up whenever they pulled off some amazing heroic stunt. It was that reason alone why Sonic was shocked that he was even on this bus in the first place, since _he_ was the apparent leader of all the fighters here. Sonic had managed to come up with two theories though, either _he_ wanted to put their rivalry to rest and try and become friends, or _he_ really wanted to beat him up on the battlefield. And since Sonic was highly skeptical of the former option, he decided that the latter was the most obvious case.

No matter though. Even if they still hated each other by the end of this tournament, nothing was stopping Sonic from making friends with some of the other fighters, right?

Sonic had become so lost in his thoughts that he barely registered that the bus was beginning to slow, finally stopping at the end of a long brick path. The lack of movement jolted Sonic out of his thoughts, and blinking once quickly stood and stretched, before grabbing his bags and making his way to the front of the bus.

"Thanks!" Sonic called to Kapp'n as he stepped off of the bus into the fresh outside air, happy with that fact that he was no longer restrained to such a small space.

"Yer welcome!" Kapp'n called back. "Good luck in the tournament laddie!"

With that the bus began to pull away, and Sonic took a deep breath before he took in the sights around him. Flowerbeds ran the length of the path, which led to a pavilion with a large fountain in it's center surrounded by a few brass benches. It was nothing compared to the main attraction itself though, the mansion was the largest building Sonic had ever seen in his life. Ivy hung from the rooftop, but it only added to the grandeur of the sight. From behind the mansion Sonic could make out the pointed tops of roofs, and he wondered what those buildings could possibly be for since the mansion was so huge.

But the best part - in Sonic's personal opinion of course - was the large amount of room to run.

Sonic quirked an eyeridge and folded his arms, impressed. He certainly hadn't expected the mansion to be as fancy as it was, and this was only the sight from the pathway. Who knew what other secrets the mansion could be hiding? Closing his eyes, Sonic inhaled the fresh, clean air and felt the wind ruffle his quills. Only a moment later, he opened his eyes and frowned, having felt something odd in the wind. It was unnatural almost, and while it took away from the perfect paradise vibe he'd initially gotten, he shrugged it off as he ascended the steps and stood in front of the door.

Well, this was it. This was his life for the next approximate year, as he'd been told that time did not flow in this gap between the dimensions, almost like they'd all been put into stasis. And while it slightly unnerved Sonic that when he got home his friends would be older while he wouldn't have aged a day, he once again pushed that thought out of his head and knocked on the door, smoothing down his quills so he looked presentable to whoever answered the door.

If anyone would answer the door, that was.

Annoyed, Sonic knocked again - louder this time. For a mansion with over thirty fighters, no one felt the need to stay near the door in case anyone else showed up? After a few more moments of waiting Sonic rolled his eyes and was about to go look for an open window or unlocked back door to go through when he heard the lock click and a voice say, "Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute here..."

A few seconds later the door opened, Sonic being somewhat taken aback by the giant floating hand that resided in the doorway, fingers twitching erratically.

"Whazzup!?" the hand greeted in a booming, crazy sounding voice.

Blinking, Sonic recovered from the shock and rummaged around in one of his bags for his invitation. "Uh, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, an' I'm here for the Super Smash Brothers tournament..."

The hand stared at the invitation for a moment before snapping his fingers and floating aside in order to let Sonic in.

"Yeah, yeah, right! You're the last one to show up actually, everyone else is already here! I'm Crazy Hand, the brother of the guy that runs the tournament, his name's Master Hand."

"The last fighter to show up, huh?" Sonic asked somewhat skeptically. Normally he would have believed Crazy Hand - he knew he was late showing up - but right now the mansion was quiet. Too quiet. If he was the last one to show up, where was everyone else?

"So, where is everyone?" Sonic asked. Crazy Hand pointed up towards the roof.

"Come check this out, it's like, super weird."

Curiosity now piqued, Sonic followed Crazy through the halls of the mansion, taking in the sights around him. The mansion was just as fancy on the inside as it was on the outside, and the amount of rooms seemed endless. Sonic knew he was going to have fun exploring every corner of every room, but right now that thought got pushed to the back of his mind as Crazy led him up three flights of stairs and to a simple looking door labelled 'ROOF'.

"It's through here," Crazy explained, opening the door and leading them both out onto the flat roof of the mansion, which was mostly barren save a few wooden crates with labels such as 'Assist Trophies' and 'Banana Peels' stacked in a corner. Sonic would have examined the crates a bit more, if it wasn't for the cold air that caught his attention. He didn't even need Crazy to point out what he was looking for, he could already see it himself.

And in all honesty, it frightened him somewhat.

Giant purple voids dotted the sky in the distance and the wind blew again, but not the wind Sonic loved that pushed him towards his next adventure. This wind felt dead, and chilled Sonic right to the bone when it blew past him.

"What are those?" Sonic questioned, and Crazy began to speak a mile a minute.

"I dunno, they just started showing up today. My brothers in there, along with the rest of the fighters. They've taken to callin' it 'Subspace' it seems."

"Hmmm," Sonic folded his arms and put his head down, deep in thought. When he finally looked up again, there was a spark in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "I'm goin' in there." Sonic announced, taking Crazy by surprise.

"WHAAAAT, but no one's come back after they went in, for all we know they could'a DIED in there!"

"They might need my help," Sonic explained, getting ready to leap from the rooftop. "An' I haven't had the thrill of an adventure in a while, should be pretty fun." He shot a playful wink at Crazy, before hurdling himself over the roof; curling into a spindash to break his fall before tearing across the ground, eyes set on the largest of the voids, what he only could assume was the entrance to Subspace.

He only hoped he wasn't too late.


	2. Enter Subspace

**AN: Hey guys! First off, I want to give a HUGE thank-you to everyone who's reviewed/followed/favorited, or even looked at this story so far! I was a nervous wreck posting the first chapter, and wasn't sure how it was going to go over. So I'm pleased a few of you are actually interested!** **And finally, for those of you who played through The Subspace Emissary in SSBB, I think you guys know what's coming in this chapter. ;)**

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 _~Chapter Two: Enter Subspace~_

Sonic decided that he didn't like Subspace very much the moment he stepped foot inside, feeling off and halting his running in order to get his bearings. Everything felt cold, dead, as if life itself just gave up and ceased to exist. For some reason the feeling struck a chord deep inside Sonic, but as unnerved as he was he pressed on trying to locate the others.

As Sonic quickly found out, Subspace was like a maze, and even though he would have normally loved the long corridors to run through, he found himself not enjoying the feeling today. He made note of the mismatched scenery as he dashed by, an area made of fluffy clouds, a dense jungle, some sort of abandoned factory...

 _'Were all these areas pulled in here somehow?'_ Sonic thought as he approached a door, and since it seemed to be the only way forward he shrugged and pulled it open.

Big mistake. He'd ended up in what look like an apocalyptic void; the darkness beckoning him as he cautiously stepped inside, the door slamming shut behind him. Not only that, it was completely freezing, and Sonic found it was somewhat difficult to breathe as he approached a large staircase leading to yet another doorway. As he made his way there a wave of sadness crashed over him suddenly and he collapsed to the ground, shaking.

 _'It's this weird place makin' me feel like this,'_ Sonic realized as he got up off the ground, taking a moment to calm down. His face quickly morphed into a scowl however as he glared at the door. He had a feeling that whatever was behind all of this was beyond it, and he was going to make sure that they were completely and utterly destroyed for messing with life like this. Sonic hesitated for only a moment before pushing the door open and sheilding his face from the bright light that came from within. When it finally subsided, he could see where he ended up.

He'd ended up on a cliff overlooking the rest of the Smashers, they all had their backs turned to him. A large hand that looked similar to Crazy Hand was lying on the ground, blood trickling out of the wounds on his knuckles. A woman with brown hair kneeled next to the hand, a golden glow emitting from her fingertips as she focused her magic on the injuries.

Sonic spied _him_ taking the lead of the group, staring up at something above them. Sonic followed _his_ eyes, gasping at the large, teal humanoid that floated there, a red orb which Sonic guessed represented his heart embedded in his chest. Two multicoloured wings suddenly sprouted from the humanoids back, and from the way everyone flinched Sonic guessed it wasn't for show.

 _'Time to make my presence known!'_ Sonic thought, quickly leaping from his perch and curling into his signature spindash, tearing past the others before they could even register what was happening. Catapulting off of a conveniently placed slanted rock, Sonic was airborne for a moment before colliding with the left wing, hearing the satisfying sound of it shattering to pieces. Wasting no time Sonic U-turned, making quick work of the right wing before hopping up onto a nearby rock structure and uncurling himself, tutting and wagging his finger at the humanoid.

A few murmurs were heard among the Smashers as Sonic glanced down at them, his eyes meeting _his_. _He_ was staring at Sonic with a mix of confusion and wonder, and Sonic couldn't help but notice the nasty bruise on _his_ face. Apparently _he_ had been through _his_ fair share of battles that day, and _he_ opened his mouth to say something when the humanoid roared, Sonic hopping down from his perch and joining the rest of the fighters as _he_ called them into a group huddle.

"Six of us," _he_ stated. "Six of us can go in to fight Tabuu. We only have one shot at this, so we need to be careful over who we send in. As leader of the Smashers, I feel like it is my responsibility to go in and fight, so I need five of you to join me."

A young man with messy blond hair and pointed ears dressed entirely in green went to stand next to _him_ , the brown haired woman attending to Master Hand letting out a gasp of shock.

"Link...!"

The man - Link apparently - gave the woman a reassuring glance. And while she looked unconvinced, she eventually nodded and clasped her hands together in a silent prayer before returning to her work.

"Count me in." A woman in a high-tech suit of armor stepped forward, cocking her arm cannon. Behind her, a young angel placed a hand over his mouth, before attempting to reach for her hand.

"Samus!"

"I'll be fine, Pit." Samus responded.

"But... but I have something to tell you!" Pit wailed. "What if you die and I can't tell you what I wanted to say?"

A few Smashers glanced over at Pit curiously, as Samus sighed in annoyance.

"No one's going to die. Not with me on the team."

With that she went to stand with her two comrades, while _he_ eyed the others once again. "Three more."

Sonic wasn't sure what came over him, but he found himself walking towards the group, feeling everyone's eyes on him. _He_ glared as Sonic brushed past _him_ , folding _his_ arms and while clearly not the most accepting of the idea, _he_ seemingly had no choice. "I mean, if you think you're up to it." _he_ muttered, Sonic feeling quite insulted.

"Trust me, I'm always up to it," Sonic shot back, the two momentarily staring each other down before _he_ turned his eyes away.

"I shall assist you," a very feminine looking man with blue hair announced, striding over to the group and taking his place next to Sonic. "I will not stand to see any more of this realm destroyed, and I will help in any way I can."

"Must you go into every battle with some sort of dramatic speech, Marth?" Samus questioned, Link next to her stifling a laugh. Even _he_ managed to crack a smile at her statement.

Marth didn't respond, standing tall and waiting for the last Smasher to join them. It was silent as the rest of the group looked at each other, clearly torn over who would be the last to go into battle. Finally, a young blond boy broke away from the crowd, causing a similar looking boy with black hair and a tall boy with brown hair and wearing all red to gasp. Sonic noticed his four comrades giving each other looks of worry as the boy approached them, determination present in his eyes.

"I... I wanna help too!" he announced, as _he_ knelt down to the boy's level, staring him in the eyes.

"Lucas, are you sure?"

Lucas nodded so violently that Sonic thought his head was going to fall off. "Yes, I wanna... I wanna be brave and help fight! I'm sick of being scared all the time, and I wanna prove that I can fight alongside all of you."

 _He_ nodded, before standing and glancing at _his_ five companions.

"So are we all ready then?"

After receiving confirming nods from the other Smashers, Tabuu let out a mighty roar, the ground beneath the group of six shaking before beginning to crack. A large chunk of the earth was violently ripped from beneath them, levitating eerily in front of Tabuu. They were on his level now.

The battle was about to begin.


	3. Vs Tabuu

_~Chapter Three: Vs. Tabuu~_

"Okay, so Link and Samus, you'll be on the right side of the stage with me, while Marth, Lucas and Sonic take the left," Mario strategized after calling the others into a group huddle. Tabuu lingered above, staring down at them silently waiting for them to make the first move. It was unnerving to Mario, but he shrugged it off to give his final orders to his comrades."I'll repeat this again, we only have one shot at this, so we can't screw this up." he made a point of looking in Sonic's direction during that last part, the hedgehog rolling his eyes. Mario felt a twinge of guilt in his stomach, wishing that things could maybe have worked out a bit differently between them. He shook away that thought though as he recomposed himself. "So... are we all ready?"

"Always," Samus replied, her visor flashing green and obscuring her face from those around her. Link and Marth gave curt nods, while Lucas audibly gulped before nodding as well. Mario's gaze fell onto Sonic, who just stared at him for a moment before smirking and giving him a thumbs-up.

"This'll be a piece of cake!"

Mario was irritated by Sonic's almost childish viewpoint of the situation - did he not realize that they were facing off against a dangerous creature that up until his surprise attack a few minutes ago had the capability of killing all of them? However, he saw a spark in those bright green eyes of his, and sighing decided to trust that Sonic knew what he was doing. After all, he wasn't constantly being compared to him for nothing.

"Let's-a-go!" he cried, the six of them launching into battle as the rest of the Smashers watched from down below, not knowing what the outcome would be.

Sonic was the first to land an attack, Tabuu shrieking as it attempted to swipe at him. Marth deflected the move back with a well-timed counter, as Mario tossed a fireball and Samus detonated a missile.

"PK Fire!" Lucas called, flames erupting from his hands while Link slashed at Tabuu with his sword. As they were fighting, Mario kept watching Sonic out of the corner of his eye, observing his battle style and noticing how he preferred to attack rather defensively, curling up into a ball rather then go hands-on with the enemy. Not a style that Mario would say that he cared for, but if it worked for him then who was he to judge?

They kept the heat on Tabuu for quite some time, until Tabuu had seemingly had enough and dive-bombed the stage from the right side, Sonic yelping as their enemy seemed to have come into contact with him. His suspicions were confirmed when he noticed blood oozing from Sonic's arm; though Sonic didn't seem to care as he shrugged off the injury and kept up the attack. Mario made a mental note to patch him up later when they'd escaped this living hell. Maybe it would help the tension between them thaw.

"Mario!" Samus called, Mario glancing in the direction Samus and Link were looking and noticing that Tabuu had projected a large hologram of his face on their side of the stage. Without warning a strong gust of wind was blowing all of them towards the edge of the stage, all of the Smashers desperately trying to hold onto anything in order to not fall to their deaths. Eventually Tabuu hovered above the stage once again, Mario quickly calling everyone into a group huddle.

"I think we need a new strategy," he whispered in a panicked tone. "Nothing we do seems to be hurting him enough to defeat him."

"He's doing something," Lucas pointed towards Tabuu, who had backed up a considerable amount from the stage. Seeing this, Sonic snickered.

"Maybe he's givin' up?" he suggested, folding his arms and giving their enemy a cocky smirk. Marth shook his head.

"Tabuu doesn't give up," he whispered as Tabuu unfurled his giant wings once again, broken somewhat from Sonic's previous attack but still intact. Mario's breath caught in his throat as he realized what Tabuu was trying to do.

"Do everything in your power to dodge, or you're going to die!" he called out to his comrades as Tabuu roared, sending a barrage of shockwaves towards the Smashers. And even though all of them were agile enough to dodge the attacks, Sonic landed a bit too early and a shockwave hit him square in the chest, sending him flying across the stage before he tumbled towards the edge, for a moment looking like he was going to recover before falling off the side of the stage.

And Mario wasn't going to let him die, even if they were bitter rivals. Wasting no time he dashed to the opposite edge of the stage, extending his arm and grabbing Sonic's hand, Marth and Samus helping him drag Sonic back onto the stage. As soon as Sonic was back on solid ground he took a moment to catch his breath before staring up at Mario, shock clearly written on his face.

"But... you're... we're..."

"Well I couldn't let you die after you saved all of us, could I?" he asked, Sonic blinking a few times before something changed in his eyes, and he gave Mario a true, genuine smile.

"Thank you," he whispered, standing and regaining his bearings. Tabuu roared, clearly angry that his attack hadn't done the damage he wanted. "So now's around the time where we really get serious about fightin' him, right?" Sonic questioned, Samus nodding her head.

"Don't need to tell me twice," she muttered, charging up her arm cannon. Link gripped the hilt of the Master Sword tight, as the wielder of the Triforce of Courage he would not fail.

"There's no way I can lose!" Marth declared. Lucas gulped, but looked determined to win. Mario took the lead of the group, and with a battle cry the six were at it again, far more aggressive this time. Tabuu was more aggressive too though, beginning to teleport randomly around the stage and making it difficult to land any sort of attack on him. He began to fling psychic blasts in every direction, Lucas crying out as one nearly missed his head, and Mario gritting his teeth in pain as one of them managed to slice open his arm, blood staining his outfit.

"You okay?" Sonic asked, Mario being mildly surprised by the concern but nodding.

" _Sì_... I'll be fine. I can still fight."

Tabuu roared above them, and the moment was lost as they continued with their battle. Link and Marth slashed away at Tabuu with their swords, while Samus detonated a bomb, followed by several missiles.

The battle raged on for what felt like an eternity, both Smashers and Tabuu visibly worn but neither side swaying. Finally, with a cry of, "PK Thunder!", Lucas shot his attack right into Tabuu's core... and all battle stopped.

Tabuu let out a shriek, yellow blood dripping from his wounds as he slowly began to disintegrate in front of the Smashers eyes, all of the areas he had chained up being released from his grasp. Realizing his plan had failed, in one final act of desperation Tabuu smashed the platform the fighters were on, the ground rumbling for the briefest moment before the whole thing shattered, sending the six plummeting down.

But to them, that didn't matter. Even if they died, so had Tabuu. They had accomplished their mission, the other Smashers were free to leave Subspace, and as they all fell towards the bright light below there was only one thing on their minds.

They'd won.


	4. Turning Over a New Leaf

_~Chapter Four: Turning Over a New Leaf~_

When Mario woke, he found the concerned face of his brother above him, quickly turning to relief when he saw that he was alright. Immediately Mario sat up, recognizing the area they were in as the area where him and the other Smashers had devised their plan to ambush Bowser and Ganondorf. Taking a quick scan around Mario noticed that Samus, Marth, Link and Lucas were fine, and that all of their wounds were seemingly healed. However, that left one Smasher unaccounted for, and from the way a crowd had begun to form a little bit away, he could guess that Sonic hadn't woken up yet.

Suddenly he saw movement from within the huddle, and he heard Pit yell, "Sonic's fine!" Mario watched as Sonic shakily stood, letting him gather his bearings before decided to walk over and talk to him. Sonic seemed to be a bit flabbergasted by the fact that his wounds had disappeared when he saw Mario approaching; the two just exchanging a look for a moment before Mario extended his hand.

"You were good out there," he complimented, Sonic grinning and firmly shaking his hand.

"Well, you weren't so bad either," Sonic replied. Mario had become aware how several other Smashers were whispering among themselves over what was happening, but it was understandable. After all, it's not like their rivalry was the most subtle thing in the world, and it certainly wasn't everyday that two rivals shook hands either.

Mario had barely noticed that Pit had fluttered up next to them, a wide grin on his face. "So does this mean that your rivalry is finally over?" he asked excitedly, bouncing on his heels and looking between the two.

Mario stumbled on his words, locking eyes with Sonic who was chewing on his bottom lip and frowning. It seemed the young angel didn't understand that just because they fought in one battle together and saved each others lives didn't mean that their whole history was suddenly erased. Pit seemed to realize what he'd said was something neither of them were comfortable with, and quickly put his hands up in a comedic fashion.

"I-I mean, it's cool if you guys are still rivals! Um... I'll just... go over here now."

Pit, face red with embarrassment, fluttered off towards Red, the Pokemon trainer. Sonic clicked his tongue as he watched him leave, turning to Mario with a raised eyeridge.

"He seems energetic," was all he said.

"He is," Mario replied, having gotten to know Pit better thanks to the fact that they'd spent so much time together in Subspace. "You know, I think you two would get along quite well."

"Hm."

The two lapsed into silence, Mario lost in thought. He kept raising his eyes to meet Sonic's who seemingly had the same idea as they kept looking away when their eyes met. And since Sonic didn't seem to want to say anything, Mario decided that it was time to attempt to bury the hatchet.

"So..." Mario started, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. How was he going to say this? "Look, I think that maybe we should-"

"Bro, come over here and celebrate!" Luigi called, breaking away from Princess Peach and Yoshi and grabbing his arm, practically dragging him over to where they were. Mario shot Sonic an apologetic glance while the hedgehog just folded his arms and cocked his head, curiosity present in his eyes.

Later. They would bury the hatchet later.

/~/

After the small celebration at the cliffside, the Smashers made their way back to the mansion where Master Hand and Crazy Hand were waiting for them, Master Hand looking no worse for wear. Upon arriving the Smashers were ushered into the auditorium where Master Hand thanked all of them for their help in defeating Tabuu, quite impressed that several of them had managed to put aside petty rivalries for the greater good. Mario flinched hearing that last part. He couldn't help but feel as though Master Hand was talking about him and Sonic.

It was after Master Hand's speech that Sonic was formally introduced to the whole mansion, and even though there was applause Mario overheard some of the other Smashers murmuring quietly among themselves wondering why he was even there. No matter. He was sure that by the end of the tournament most would have warmed up to Sonic.

It was clearly beginning to show already as after Master Hand let the Smashers go free, Mario spied Pit and Red chatting with Sonic, and by the looks of it they were getting along just fine. Mario smiled somewhat at the sight, before leaving the auditorium in order to get a map of the mansion. Even though he wasn't sure if it was going to work, he was going to try everything in his power in order to get along with Sonic.

"Watch where you're going," a gruff voice said, and Mario glanced up to see that he was in the way of another newcomer to the tournament, Solid Snake.

"Oh, sorry," Mario apologized, before a thought crossed his mind. He didn't know much about Snake, or Sonic for that matter. "Hey, what are you doing Friday night?"

"How am I supposed to know? I just got here." Snake replied.

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to maybe join me in the games room so we could get to know each other better? I was thinking of inviting Sonic as well."

Snake blinked, before shrugging. "Sure."

"Really?"

"Sure," Snake repeated. "Seems like a good idea to get to know some people around here. I'll see you Friday night then."

Mario blinked as Snake wandered away, pleased at how easy it had been to get him to agree. Grabbing a map from outside Master Hand's office, he headed back down to the first floor to the auditorium, where Sonic was still conversing with Pit and Red. And while Mario was glad that Sonic had managed to make a couple of friends, he thought it was about time to give Sonic the grand tour. Stepping into the auditorium the chatter between the trio ceased, Sonic eyeing Mario in slight annoyance.

"Hi guys, I hate to break this up, but I think it's about time Sonic learned where everything in the mansion is."

"I can find it myself." Sonic shot back, a hint of annoyance flaring in Mario's chest.

"You need a map," he argued. "Even with your speed it'll take awhile to find everything in the mansion, and it's easy to get lost."

"That's actually true!" Pit pointed out. "And I've been here for quite some time already!"

"Go with Mario, Sonic," Red urged. "We'll hang out later."

While it looked like Sonic wanted to protest, it was three against one and he eventually sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine," he muttered, getting up from the bleachers and going to stand next to Mario. "Show me around then, o' great leader of ours."

How charming. Sighing and trying to keep his blood pressure down, Mario waved to Pit and Red before motioning Sonic to follow him, figuring that the first place Sonic should get acquainted with was the dormitories.

"So despite the fact that this mansion is so big, we have dormitories for all of us fighters," Mario began, shoving the map into Sonic's hands. "That wasn't originally the case, but once it was clear that these tournaments would keep happening and more fighters would be showing up, the dorms were built."

"Huh," was Sonic's only response. "So, other than suddenly bein' really interested in bein' a tour guide, is there any particular reason you're helping me? Don't get me wrong, it's nice and all, but considerin' our history I'd think that you'd want nothin' t'do with me."

Mario stopped, turning to look back at Sonic. "I don't want that to be the case anymore," he explained. "This is the first time we've met face-to-face, and I'd rather bury the hatchet then spend the whole tournament fighting with you. If you'll let me, I want to try and be friends."

Mario could tell from Sonic's shocked face that he hadn't been expecting that sort of response, and after several moments of silence not receiving a response Mario frowned.

"Well, it was worth a shot..." he mumbled in disappointment.

"No, wait," Sonic interjected. "You're really serious?"

"Of course I am."

Another bout of silence passed, Sonic seemingly contemplating something.

"Alright," he agreed. "If you're willing to try and be friends, then so am I."

Mario smiled, pleased that Sonic had actually accepted his proposition. He motioned for Sonic to follow him as he began to walk again, making their way to the back of the mansion, where Mario stopped in front of a set of glass doors.

"This is the way out to the backyard and dormitories," he explained, pushing open the doors. Stepping outside Mario noticed how Sonic's eyes widened at the scenery around them, apparently he was a fan of nature. A light breeze blew through the backyard, ruffling Sonic's quills as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. And while Mario was slightly amused by the sight, they needed to keep moving.

"The building right here is the dorm," Mario explained as him and Sonic kept moving. "Boys sleep on the wing to the right, and girls sleep on the one to the left. And just so you know, there's a strict rule that boys and girls can't share dorm rooms, and can't visit each other after nine o'clock at night. I don't think I need to elaborate why." turning towards the door, he added under his breath, "That doesn't mean that stops some of them though."

Opening the doors, Mario motioned Sonic inside and turned right towards the boys dorms, a few other Smashers loitering in the lobby and in the hallway. Mario led Sonic to the end of the hallway, stopping outside a door with the number '23' on it.

"This is your room," he announced. "I don't have the key with me, you'll have to get that from Master Hand, but I know it's unlocked if you'd like to take a look."

Nodding, Sonic opened the door and stepped into the room momentarily before exiting, looking pleased. "Seems pretty good to me," was all he said, relief sweeping through Mario.

"Good," he replied. "Well, since you're here you may as well unpack, so we'll finish the tour another time. Dinner is at five, I can come get you if you want, or you can use your map."

"I'll try and find it myself." Sonic inputted.

Nodding, Mario continued, "Remember to get your key from Master Hand, his office is on the third floor," hesitating, Mario added. "And Sonic?"

"Yes?"

"I set up this get-to-know-you thing with Snake this Friday night in the games room. Maybe you'd like to join us...?"

Sonic placed a hand on his hip as he considered it. Finally he shrugged, grinning.

"Sure, why not?"

"Oh, good! I'm so glad you said yes," Mario looked down the hall momentarily trying to think if there was anything else he needed to tell Sonic. When he couldn't think of anything, he turned back to him. "Well, I'll let you unpack now. I'll see you at dinner."

"See ya," Sonic called after him as Mario gave a quick wave and began to head back down the hall, feeling a huge weight lift off of his shoulders. He was so thankful that Sonic was willing to start fresh with him. Sure, it didn't change the fact that there was still some issues they needed to work through, but baby steps was better than no progress at all. The ice was beginning to thaw into what Mario hoped would become a solid friendship.


	5. Getting to Know You Better

_~Chapter Five: Getting to Know You Better~  
_

Well... this was awkward. Letting out a quiet sigh, Sonic shot Mario another disbelieving look; the plumber keeping his head down with a saddened expression on his face. Snake meanwhile looked bored out of his mind, absentmindedly glancing around the games room while looking like he wanted to bail.

Talk about a great get-to-know-you meeting, huh? Though honestly, Sonic really wasn't that surprised. Even though he'd initially been positive along with Mario, he began to have a few doubts when he overheard Snake make a comment about him that was somewhat mean-spirited. He didn't know why, as far as he was concerned he hadn't done anything to offend Snake, but for some reason he just didn't like him. Which led to their current situation, the three of them sitting on chairs completely ignoring each other. Eventually Snake sighed, standing and catching the attention of Mario and Sonic.

"If no one's gonna say anything, I guess I'll just leave."

Sonic saw Mario flinch at the statement, looking even more dejected than usual. And even though they still weren't on the best of terms... Sonic really hated to see him upset.

"No one's goin' anywhere," Sonic started, acid present in his tone. "Look, Mario wanted us to get along for a reason, so we're gonna get along!"

"Sonic..." Mario began. "It's fine, we don't have to-"

"No, Mario. Now we're all going to sit down and get to know each other better. Let's start with our favourite colours. I'll go first. Yes, I'm rather fond of the colour blue, but I'm also partial to dark purple; it calms me down for some reason," he looked in Mario's direction. "What about you, Mario? What's your favourite colour?"

Mario and Snake both gaped at Sonic, Snake reluctantly taking his seat again while Mario cleared his throat. "R-Red is my favourite colour."

Sonic nodded. "A little bit predictable, but fine." he turned towards Snake. "What about you Snake? Anythin' to add here?"

Snake glared at Sonic, and at first Mario or Sonic thought he wasn't going to say anything. Finally, he sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. "...I suppose I like yellow."

"Good," Sonic smiled a bit. "See, this is goin, well so far."

"No, it's not," Snake interrupted. "We're not five, yet we're sitting here asking basic things to one another. I'm expecting you to ask what our favourite shapes are next. If we really, truly want to get to know each other, wouldn't it be best to start with what we even do, A.K.A the reason any of us are here at this damn tournament?"

Silence fell over Mario and Sonic as they considered Snake's words. Finally after several beats of uncomfortable silence, Mario spoke up.

"I'm a plumber, born in the Mushroom Kingdom but when I was very young my parents decided that raising children in the Mushroom Kingdom was too dangerous; so we ended up moving to the planet Doppel."

Sonic's eyes widened at the mention of the planet. "Doppel..." he whispered to himself then spoke again, louder this time. "Isn't that the planet inhabited by Mii's?"

" _Sì_ ," Mario confirmed. "But there are a few humans who live there as well. Luigi and I actually lived on Doppel for most our lives, where we both aspired to be doctors. But..." Mario went silent, both Snake and Sonic realizing the outcome of that dream. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Mario continued. "I may not be a certified doctor, but I know enough for Master Hand and Crazy Hand to trust me with the Smashers; Luigi as well. I can one hundred percent say with confidence that no one will die under my care." His eyes seemed to dull after he said that, and even though Sonic wanted to believe that Mario was telling the truth he couldn't help but feel that there was something he was hiding.

"If you say so," Snake scoffed. Sonic glared at Snake, then turned back to Mario.

"What happened for you to end up back in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Mario frowned a bit, chewing his lip. "Me and Luigi were doing a plumbing job in the sewers one day, we'd heard that there was some sort of clog in the water flow. When we got there, it turned out to be a bunch of Koopa's; not that either of us knew what they were at the time. We continued our way through the sewers, and we came across this huge green pipe."

"A warp pipe?" Sonic guessed. Mario nodded.

" _Sì_ , a warp pipe. Luigi was a bit too scared to go in, so I went in. And... I found myself in the Mushroom Kingdom, at the start of my very first adventure to save Peach. Luigi eventually followed me into the pipe, I had apparently been gone a long time but to me it was only a few minutes."

"How did you know to save the princess?" Sonic questioned.

"After Luigi followed me into the Mushroom Kingdom, the warp pipe simply vanished. We had no way of returning to Doppel. We were confused of course, well, I was confused, Luigi was completely freaked out; then a Toad ran up to us. In his hands he held a letter from Bowser, saying he'd kidnapped Peach and was holding her hostage at his fortress. Naturally I couldn't let that happen, so I went to stop him." Mario took a deep breath and exhaled. "And that's how I became a hero of sorts. Neither Luigi or I really know why we were called back to the Mushroom Kingdom, but Peach theorized at one point that it has something to do with us being Star Children."

"Star Children?" Snake asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

" _Sì_ , apparently there are seven Star Children, me and Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Wario, Yoshi and Donkey Kong. We don't know what it means, if anything, but it may be the source of our powers."

"Huh," Sonic commented, folding his arms. "What about your parents?"

Mario's face darkened, and he stared down at the ground. The sudden shift in attitude was enough to alarm Sonic and Snake, but they said nothing and waited for Mario to speak.

"We haven't seen them since we disappeared that day," he muttered, his voice devoid of emotion. "I have no idea how they must feel."

Silence filled the room again as Sonic and Snake took in Mario's words, neither expecting the tale to be as sad as it was. However, Mario lifted his head again, a small, somewhat forced looking smile on his face.

"But... I know we'll see them again someday. And living in the Mushroom Kingdom isn't so bad; we all play way too many sports on our spare time, so that's a plus." At that statement Sonic raised an eyebrow, seemingly considering something.

"Anyway, I suppose that's the end of my story," Mario glanced from Snake to Sonic. "Who wants to go next?"

"I guess I'll go," Sonic spoke up. "Though really there's not much to say about my parents or childhood, considerin' I have no memory up until I was around eight I think?"

"What?" Snake questioned, while Mario just stared with wide eyes. "How old are you again?"

"I'd just turned sixteen. What about it?"

"Sonic..." Mario began very slowly. "That means you only have... around seven years of memory? What happened?"

Sonic scrunched up his face, deep in thought. "I dunno what happened, all I remember was wakin' up one day in the Tornado - a plane in case you were wonderin' - an' a bunch of the local animals had swarmed around it, clearly confused why I was there. An' I could relate, I had no idea where I was either. All I knew was that the Tornado belonged to me. I think I hit my head on somethin' though, 'cause there's a weird scar on my head and I don't know how it got there. I was also mute up until I was thirteen, my best friend Tails needed to teach me how to speak again." he shrugged, clearly not that concerned about the lack of knowledge he had about his past. "But the real story starts with the first attack Eggman launched.

"It wasn't a very threatening attack the first time, but it was enough to get me into gear and stop whatever diabolical plot he was hatchin'. What I didn't anticipate was that he would come back only a few months later and start kidnappin' all my buddies. So I did the thing anyone would do, an' went after him to stop him. Along the way I came across six Chaos Emeralds; I had no idea what they did at the time but I figured they may have been important for somethin'. So I hung onto them until they end, when I defeated Eggman an' he retreated to his lair or wherever he goes when I beat him, I've never asked. But the thing was, when I headed back to South Island, the Emeralds I'd collected suddenly started glowing, restoring some vegetation before scattering. I hadn't realized I was missing an Emerald at the time, I found that out when I met Tails."

"What exactly do the Emeralds do?" Mario asked. Sonic grinned and wagged a finger.

"Getting into depth would take a bit long so I'll save you that story, but there's positive and negative energy in the Emeralds. Using the positive energy of the Emeralds, I transform into a powered-up state called Super Sonic. I turn gold, my eyes become red, my abilities become even more awesome than before, and the best part in my opinion is that I gain the ability to fly."

"And I suppose you use this form to defeat Eggman?"

"Bingo. Though sometimes it's been whatever creature Eggman tried to control," Sonic let out a sigh, and smirked at Mario. "So I guess that's how I became a so called 'hero'. It's been interestin' for sure, but I guess it's just what I was meant to do." Satisfied with his story, he turned to Snake. "What about you Snake? What's your story?"

The only thing Mario and Sonic heard from Snake was a loud snore, and Sonic's ears flattened against his skull, annoyed. "Seriously? He's asleep? He was the one who wanted to know this stuff to begin with!" Shaking his head, Sonic turned back to Mario. "...I guess it's just us now, huh?"

"Guess so..." Mario murmured. "Do you... want to hear more about my adventures?"

"Only if you'll listen to mine." Sonic countered. Mario grinned, nodding.

"Okie-dokie!" he stated cheerfully. "Do you mind if I go first?"

"Go ahead."

"Well, there was this one time me, Luigi and Wario were invited to Peach's castle for cake..."

/~/

"So you, the famed hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, actually got arrested?"

Mario nodded in conformation. " _Sì_ , and I was forced to clean Isle Delfino as a result."

"That's rough, dude. Though I guess I can't really hold that against you, considerin' I was arrested myself once."

"Well that doesn't surprise me." Mario teased, while Sonic stuck his tongue out rather childishly.

"Oh, be quiet."

Mario and Sonic weren't sure how long they'd actually been talking, but they realized it was late when yawns became a common occurrence in their sentences. As they'd come to learn, they were a lot more similar than they'd originally thought, and even though there was still a bit of tension in the air they felt a lot more comfortable around each other. Sonic decided as he stacked his chair in a corner that maybe him and Mario would be really good friends.

Chuckling a bit from the thought, he turned his eyes to Snake who was still fast asleep in the chair. "What do we do about him?"

"Just leave him there, I guess," Mario decided. "Master Hand usually doesn't mind if we wander about the mansion at night, as long as we're not causing any sort of trouble."

"Good enough for me," Sonic stated, beginning to walk out of the games room, Mario flicking off the light and following. On their way back to the dorms Sonic kept secretly glancing at Mario. There was something he'd wanted to ask him, he just wasn't sure how to bring it up. Eventually Mario realized he was being watched, and turned to Sonic.

" _Sì_?"

Sonic stopped in the middle of the hall, shuffling from foot to foot not exactly knowing how to say it. Finally he ran a hand through his quills and took a deep breath.

"Well, some time ago I got a letter from some people wanting me an' some of my friends to compete in the Olympics on the planet Doppel."

At the sound of the planet he grew up on, Mario took a sharp breath.

"So the thing is, the letter mentioned that we need another team, and we don't exactly have that," Sonic continued. "So I was wonderin'... would you and your friends like to be our rival team?"

Mario said nothing at first, just staring wide-eyed at Sonic. Then a large grin spread across his face, and he nodded.

"We'd be honored. Do you know where they're being held?"

"Some place called Beijing. Do y'know where that is?"

"I've never been there, but I have a general idea of where it is."

"Cool!" hesitating, Sonic added. "Maybe if luck's on your side, you'll get to see your parents again too."

"I hope so," Mario quietly said. The two smiled at each other, and continued down the hall towards the dorms.

"Don't expect me to go easy on you though," Sonic quipped. Mario shot him a playful look.

"I'm not planning on it. In fact, we should see which one of us gets more gold medals."

"You're on."

The two had finally made it to the back door of the mansion, and stepping outside were bathed in the light of the full moon above. Stopping outside the dorms, the friendly rivals stood across from each other, playful smirks on their faces.

"We should probably focus on this tournament first though," Mario pointed out, Sonic nodding in agreement. "And, I'm not planning on losing to you."

"Well I'm not plannin' on losing to you!" Sonic countered, the two glaring at each other in mock annoyance before they both snickered, wandering inside the dorm building.

"Well... _buona notte_ Sonic," Mario said. "It was nice getting to know you better."

"Night Mario. It was nice gettin' to know you too."

Mario gave a wave and retreated into his room. Smiling and shaking his head, Sonic began wandering down the hall to his room, replaying the night's events in his mind.

 _'Who would've thought...'  
_

* * *

 **AN: Yeah... I know that in real life Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games was released before Brawl was... but for the sake of this story I reversed the order of events. I felt that it flowed a little more naturally that way.**


	6. Anyway, Here's Wonderwall

**AN: Quick little thing before we start, I've decided to follow suit of a few other authors and reply to reviews at the end of the chapter. I realized I probably shouldn't be so shy with my readers, and this way you get to know a little bit more about me! Hope you guys don't mind!**

 **And yes, I named this chapter after a meme. No, I don't apologize.**

* * *

 _~Chapter Six: Anyway, Here's Wonderwall~_

Well... Sonic had _seriously_ underestimated his opponent. How could something that looked so cute have the ability to electrocute him, all while it darted about the stage chirping away like it came right out of a cartoon? Slightly frazzled, Sonic comically stumbled out of the teleporter and was met with several knowing looks from the other Smashers, while Pikachu exited the other, chirping away happily before bounding up to Sonic and holding out his tiny paw.

"Yeah, good game. I'll know next time though," Sonic told the Pokemon, shaking his paw.

"Pika!" Pikachu responded, then darted out of the room leaving Sonic and a few spectators alone in the transporter room, several screens replaying the match that had just transpired.

"Don't feel so bad about losing!" Pit cheerfully stated. "Everyone loses to Pikachu 'cause we're all too busy gushing over how cute he is! I still have scorch marks on my wings to prove it!"

"Wish Red could have been here to warn me," Sonic lamented, thinking about his friend who was currently in the infirmary thanks to a reckless stunt involving a bicycle and a stairwell. "But whatever. I'm not really here to win anyway."

Pit nodded, fluttering his wings. "Well, I'm gonna go check in on Red. Do you wanna come along?"

"Eh, not this time. I think I'm gonna do a bit more explorin' around here, I've nearly got the entire layout of the mansion memorized."

"Okay, see you later!"

Waving, Pit disappeared down the hall while Sonic took one final glance around the transporter room, clicking his tongue before leaving and going in the opposite direction Pit had been going, lacing his hands behind his head. At the end of the hallway Sonic noticed a door that was slightly open, and being the curious hedgehog he was peeked in before opening the door fully and stepping into the room.

So the mansion had a music room. Impressed, Sonic's eyes fell onto the guitars that hung on the walls, the drum set in the corner with a fine layer of dust, and several sheets of music that lay haphazardly on the table, along with a lone ocarina. To Sonic, it looked like the place hadn't been used in years.

After taking one final lap around the room Sonic turned to leave, but a certain guitar hanging on the wall caught his eye. It was an electric guitar, blue in colour, and no matter how many times Sonic told himself to leave the room, he found himself circling around back to it. Quirking an eyebrow, he gently lifted the guitar from the wall and held it for a moment before sitting down on one of the many chairs scattered around the room.

"I think I need an amp for an electric guitar..." Sonic mumbled to himself, glancing around and finding one against one of the walls. Dragging it over he plugged the guitar into it and ran his thumb across the strings, one at a time at first, then quickly across all of them.

He really liked the sound. Setting the guitar down he got up and glanced around the room, finding a book that went through detailed tutorials on how to play the guitar along with how to read sheet music. Smirking to himself, Sonic set the book up on a stand, grabbed the guitar again, and after a moment began to teach himself how to play.

/~/

Mario thought he'd heard something.

He'd been in the spectator room watching the match between Ike and Lucario, all while feeling a bit guilty that he'd missed the match between Pikachu and Sonic. Not that it could really be helped at all, Link had been mildly injured in a previous match and Mario needed to be there in order to make sure his wounds healed properly, not to mention that Red was still in the infirmary thanks to his broken leg. After the match was over and Ike came out victorious, Mario had left with the intent of retreating back to his dorm for the day...

...Until he heard music.

Curiously, Mario made his way over to where the sound was coming from, noticing the door to the music room was open. This surprised him, as no one had used it in such a long time that Master Hand had considered getting rid of it altogether. However, Mario had persuaded him to keep it a little bit longer, suspecting that maybe a newcomer or two would be interested in music and may want to use it.

Mario only intended to quickly glance in, but after seeing who was in there he tilted his head, leaning against the doorjam and watching the oblivious Sonic adjust his fingers on the neck of the guitar before his eyes lifted to the music in front of him, squinting in concentration. After a moment, Sonic re-positioned his fingers and began to play.

Yes, it was a little bit shaky, and yes, Mario could tell that Sonic had only picked up a guitar maybe an hour or so ago... but it still sounded good. And Mario could tell that Sonic was passionate about this new hobby of his, considering he quietly swore whenever he messed up and started from the beginning. After several minutes of restarts, Sonic finally made it to the end of the song, a small smirk on his face. Deciding to make his presence known, Mario gave a small round of applause causing Sonic to jump and swivel towards his rival.

"How long have you been there?" he questioned.

"I'd say ten minutes or so. You're pretty good you know."

Glancing at the guitar in his hands, Sonic smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty fun. I'm thinkin' that this'll probably be my hobby for the rest of the tournament, besides running of course."

Mario rolled his eyes at that last statement, before looking around the music room. "As I'm sure you were able to guess, no one uses this room much anymore. So it's nice to see at least one Smasher interested in music, considering that the last one-" he cut himself off as his eyes fell on the abandoned ocarina on the table, Sonic eyeing him curiously.

"'The last one' what?"

"Hm? Oh, it's nothing," Mario dismissed. "But anyway, you keep on practicing, from what I've heard you have a lot of potential."

Sonic, slightly embarrassed by the praise, ran a hand through his quills. "Aw, c'mon, I can't be _that_ good."

"I'm being serious," Mario confirmed. He turned to leave, raising a hand. "But I'll leave you be for now. I'll see you around!"

Sonic watched Mario leave, an odd feeling residing in his chest and stomach. A small laugh escaped his lips as he stood to place the guitar back on the wall, feeling oddly happy at Mario's words. For some reason, he couldn't stop smiling.

It was until he caught sight of his reflection in the hallway mirror did he realize he was blushing, but for what reason he couldn't figure out why.

* * *

 _ **Replies:**_

 **Smash King24:** As a fan of your stories, I kind of freaked out a bit when I saw you reviewed. So thank you very much! Yeah, about...half-ish of this story is gonna take place at the Olympics, but I'm still going to make sure to mention the Smashers during that time. This is a Smash Brothers story for a reason, and we're coming back to the mansion for the Sm4sh era. I've always thought that if Sonic had a bigger role in SSE it would have been similar to the Lucario and Meta Knight fight, where you choose to play as either Mario or Sonic, take down the opposite fighter, the winner revives the trophy and then they become allies.  
It is a rare pairing, isn't it? And yeah, I really wanted to capture the fact that they have some sort of history with each other, and the gradual change in their relationship. And Sonic will be interacting with more of the Smashers, though it becomes more apparent during the Sm4sh era.


	7. Mario vs Sonic

_~Chapter Seven: Mario Vs. Sonic~_

"So are you two prepared for your match?"

The friendly rivals quickly glanced at each other, smirking before turning to look at Master Hand.

"Yeah, I think we're ready," Sonic confirmed. Next to him, Mario gave a slight nod in agreement.

After months of waiting, it had finally happened. Mario and Sonic, facing off against each other in a match. In all honesty, both had gotten to a point where they thought it simply wouldn't happen. But alas, the stars had aligned; now they were just minutes away from what the rest of the Smashers were calling the 'Brawl of the Century.' Both Mario and Sonic didn't see what all the hype was about though. It's not like they were bitter enemies anymore. Just two friendly rivals who liked getting the occasional rise out of each other. Which was more often than not really.

"Alright, will both of you step into the transporters please?"

Facing each other, the two shook hands.

"May the best Smasher win," Mario stated. Sonic snickered.

"Back at ya."

Smiling, the two stepped into their respective transporters; the doors closing behind them. Master Hand pulled the lever, the stages randomizing until one was picked: Final Destination. Upon the Smashers request the items were switched off as well; it would be a pure test of endurance for both of them. The rest of the mansion watched as Mario and Sonic appeared on Final Destination, the countdown slowly ticking down.

Three...

Two...

One...

"GO!"

Mario immediately charged forward at Sonic, who had launched into a spindash and was barreling towards him at top speed. The two met in the center of the stage, Mario throwing out a fireball while Sonic quickly dodged; curling into a ball and trying to land a homing attack. Mario saw it coming though, and quickly stepped back before landing the first attack of the match: his Super Jump Punch.

Sonic winced as he was sent flying back, retaliating with a spin charge and a double punch and kick. The two were locked in physical combat for several minutes, and as several Smashers noticed were getting steadily more violent with their attacks. If this wasn't a brawl, both of them would have been bloody messes by now. It honestly looked like they were trying to kill each other.

"Kick his ass Sonic!" Bowser roared, while Peach and Luigi gave him a death glare.

"Come on bro! You can win!" Luigi cheered, as Sonic was doused in water from F.L.U.D.D.

"Samus, I'm scared," Pit whimpered, turning to face the bounty hunter. Samus shook her head.

"Don't be." she stated. Pit cocked his head.

"Why not?"

"Remember, they were fierce rivals at one point. That doesn't just go away overnight, and even though they consider themselves friends now there's probably still some pent-up hatred for each other. If anything, this is healthy for them."

Pit's eyes widened with wonder at this new perspective, and turned his eyes back to the stage where Sonic had managed to deplete one of Mario's three stocks. The hedgehog himself wasn't looking too good though, one more strong attack and he'd be down a stock as well.

"Pretty good," Mario complimented, staring down his opponent. "But I'm far from being done yet. Don't think you've won because you're ahead at the moment."

Sonic's eyes flashed, his mouth curling into a smirk. "Just what I wanted to hear," he replied, and the two were at it once again.

The match seemed to go on for ages; both Smashers wearing each other down until they both had a singular stock left and were left on opposite sides of the stage pondering their next move, watching their opponent closely.

Sonic was the first to move, running across the stage and curling into a spindash. At the very last second however he uncurled and grabbed ahold of Mario, something the plumber hadn't expected. He tossed him up into the air, then used his quills to send Mario flying off into the sky thinking that would finish him off. However, much to Sonic and everyone else's surprise Mario made it back onto the stage, panting heavily but not out of the game yet.

"Nice try Sonic," Mario called out. "But I'm not giving up yet."

And with that Mario rushed forward, quickly using a combination of punches and fireballs to knock Sonic off the stage, sending him to his demise and depleting his last stock.

"GAME!"

/~/

The room was quiet as Mario and Sonic exited the transporters. Nervously, the Smashers watched as they crossed the room to each other, neither having a readable expression. Pit chewed his lip, were they going to start fighting? From the intense way they had battled before, that seemed to be the way it was going.

Instead Sonic broke out into a wide grin, holding his hand out.

"Good match," was all he said. No sarcasm, no malice... he was genuinely impressed by Mario's skills. Mario smiled back, and the two shook hands yet again.

"You almost had me at the end. I wasn't expecting you to use your quills as a weapon."

"Most seem to forget that I even have them."

Many Smashers breathed out a sigh of relief, no fighting here folks; everyone could go on their merry way. Any Smasher who had brought snacks hoping for a fight simply grumbled, filing out of the room rather quickly. Master Hand floated out of the control room, seemingly pleased with the match.

"Congratulations Mario," he boomed. "And I praise your fighting Sonic. That was certainly an exciting match, one for the archives for sure."

" _Grazie,_ Master Hand," Mario acknowledged. "That means a lot coming from you."

"Think nothing of it," Master Hand stated. "You two have come a long way since the start of the tournament. I'm very happy you managed to put aside your differences and see your similarities instead. I always knew you two could, it was just a matter of when." He chuckled, before continuing. "I see great things in your future. Now if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave."

With that, Master Hand left the room, leaving Mario and Sonic alone with each other - the other fighters having apparently left at some point. Sonic turned to Mario, a perplexed look on his face.

"Is it just me, or did it seem like he knew somethin' that we don't?"

"No, that was the vibe I got as well."

"Okay, good," Sonic then smirked at Mario. "Sooo... you may have won in Smash Brothers... but I'm totally going to own you at the Olympics."

"Well I guess we'll just see about that!" Mario shot back. "I haven't seen you practicing at all."

"Like you have?" Sonic retorted. Mario faltered, stammering before lowering his head.

"Point taken."

"But in all seriousness," Sonic started. "Do you have your team picked out?"

"Sure do!" Mario replied. "All but two are here at the mansion, and we managed to get a hold of the others quite easily."

"Good, good," Sonic folded his arms, staring down at the ground. After a moment, he looked up smiling. "Well, I should probably head out now. I'm glad I got to fight against you finally. I see now why you're the leader of the Smashers."

With that, Sonic wandered past the dumbstruck Mario, who simply looked after him with shock written on his face. He hadn't been expecting that compliment from Sonic. After a moment he closed his eyes and smiled, glad that he'd been able to make a friend out of his former enemy.

* * *

 _ **Replies:**_

 **lovemet123:** Well thank you very much! I've always headcanoned that Sonic could play the guitar, and it also doubles as a reference to Sonic Underground, which gets a few more references later on in the story. However, I wasn't even thinking about Sonic Underground when I decided on the colour for the guitar, I just kinda made it blue because I thought it would look cool.


	8. Item Swapping

_~Chapter Eight: Item Swapping~_

"I can't believe that tomorrow is our last day at the mansion."

Mario nodded in confirmation. "It does seem like it just started. But as the saying goes, 'Time sure flies when you're having fun.'"

Sonic snickered. "Except time _didn't_ fly, considerin' time doesn't even flow in this weird dimension gap," he looked up in the sky, thoughtful. "I guess that means all my friends will be older now."

"It is a little strange, but you _will_ get used to it. And it's only been a year, so there shouldn't be that much difference."

Sonic nodded, letting out a heavy sigh. The two were currently on the roof of the mansion, watching the sun go down and reflecting on the "year" that had passed. Mario had attempted to invite Snake along, but he'd simply refused for reasons he wouldn't disclose. So it was just the two of them, sitting on item crates and staring out into the endless forest that Sonic remembered from his first day at the mansion.

"Y'know, I never expected to make so many friends here." Sonic continued. "There's Pit, Red, sometimes Samus, Snake to an extent," he turned to Mario, grinning. "And you! Which is still pretty weird to think about. I ended up likin' you a lot more than I originally planned."

"I could easily say the same thing," Mario responded. "In all honesty, I was really skeptical when Master Hand suggested you for this tournament. I didn't think we'd get along at all." Mario looked up in the sky, pondering his next words. "Then the battle with Tabuu happened... and you saved us all."

"Well I couldn't just let you all die, could I?" Sonic asked. "That wouldn't have been very in-character for me."

Mario chuckled lightly, giving Sonic an amused smile. "No, I suppose it wouldn't have been. You know, I honestly don't know why I thought you were so bad in the first place."

Sonic shrugged. "It was everyone constantly comparin' us. Why they were doin' so I'll never understand though. But it's not like some voice from above will give us the answer."

"Attention all Smashers!" Master Hand's voice boomed through the PA system. "Could you all please report to the auditorium, there is an important matter to discuss. I repeat, all Smashers are to report to the auditorium. Thank you."

Sonic blinked, and slowly the two turned to look at each other before dissolving into laughter.

"Well _that_ was good timing," Sonic snarked. He stood, followed by Mario who dusted off his overalls. "I wonder what he wants."

"He probably wants to congratulate Captain Falcon for winning the tournament, and maybe tell us to be careful in our home worlds. It may not seem like it at first, but he really does care about all of us. Crazy too."

"Yeah, I figured as much," They began to head down the flight of stairs that led from the third floor to the second floor. On their way down Pit joined them, eager to start a conversation with his two friends.

"I haven't seen you two all day!" Pit exclaimed, pouting slightly. "I wanted to spend more time with you before we have to say goodbye!"

"Sorry kiddo," Sonic apologized. "How about after this is over, you can spend time with us," he turned towards Mario. "Right?"

"Of course!" Mario agreed. Pit grinned, eyes lighting up.

"Thanks guys!"

They'd finally made it to the first floor, and filed into the auditorium with the rest of the Smashers. The room was abuzz with chatter, and Mario immediately broke off from Sonic and Pit to sit with Luigi. Meanwhile Sonic and Pit had found a seat next to Red, who in turn was sitting next to Samus, a napping Pikachu on her lap. Sonic quickly scanned the room for Snake, who he found up near the top of the bleachers with Captain Falcon, doubled over laughing at something the racer had said.

...He was really going to miss these guys. The realization struck Sonic suddenly, and just as he was about to ask Red and Samus what they were doing afterwards Master Hand floated to the podium and cleared his... "throat"... signalling he wanted silence from the Smashers.

"Good evening," he greeted. "Thank you for meeting me here on such a short notice, but there is an important matter to discuss." He paused for a dramatic effect before continuing. "Now, at these tournaments you've probably made many friends that are not from your universe. And it is probably very difficult to say goodbye."

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd, until Master Hand motioned for silence again.

"It is with great excitement that I introduce my latest creation. Crazy, do you mind?"

At that moment Crazy Hand wheeled out a device with several blinking lights and a small dome at the bottom. To Sonic, it looked like something he'd find in Tails' workshop.

"All you need to do is take an object that belongs to you," Master Hand started, immediately taking out a SmashGold from... somewhere. Placing it in the dome, he continued, "And pull this lever..."

A whirring sound came from the machine, the lights blinking crazily as a beam of blue light engulfed the SmashGold. After a moment the whirring stopped, the lights returning to normal as Master Hand removed the SmashGold. "And now you have the ability to communicate with any Smasher you give it to."

"And don't question how it works!" Crazy Hand added. "It just works, okay! It's magic, MAGIC! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!"

Excited murmurs broke out in the crowd, and Pit's eyes lit up. Turning to his friends he excitedly chattered, "You guys want one of my feathers, right?"

"Sure!" Red answered. Frowning, he added, "I think I have some spare Pokéballs on me..."

Sonic tuned out of the conversation as he began to think. He had some rings on him, those seemed like a good item to exchange. He just hoped he had enough...

"Sonic? Are you listening?"

Realizing Pit was trying to talk to him, Sonic quickly tuned back into the conversation. "I didn't quite catch all of that, say it again please?"

Pit rolled his eyes. "So I won't be able to hang out with you and Mario. I have feathers to give out!"

"Oh, yeah sure. I have rings to hand out."

Smashers had begun to file out of the room, and Sonic waited for everyone else to leave before he did. Quickly dashing to his room, he checked his drawers for any spare rings. Thankfully he had quite a few on him, and not wasting any time dashed back to the auditorium where Master Hand waited with his machine. To his surprise a few Smashers had made it there before him, so he waited in line impatiently tapping his foot. If there was one thing he hated, it was waiting in line-ups; too slow for him.

Finally he made it to the front, and placed his rings in the dome. With a whir and flash of blue light, he was ready to start handing them out to his friends.

"Sonic!"

He didn't need to go very far to find said friends apparently. Turning, Sonic found himself face-to-face with Pit, holding a bunch of feathers in his hands. "Stay in contact with me?" Pit pleaded, holding out a feather to Sonic. Accepting, Sonic handed him a ring.

"Of course buddy! Have you seen Red, Samus or Snake anywhere?"

"Samus was hanging out by the gym last time I checked, and I don't know where the other two could be."

Sonic shrugged. "Eh, with my speed I'll find 'em eventually. Thanks though!"

As Sonic tore through the mansion, he found that nearly everyone had gotten in on the item-swapping frenzy. He passed by Lucas and Ness, Jigglypuff and Kirby, and even Ike and Meta Knight. Finally he came across Samus, who was trading a missile capsule with Zelda, who offered her a rupee. Waving goodbye, Samus turned to Sonic and sighed.

"By the look on your face and the rings in your arms, I'm assuming you want to keep in contact with me?"

"Sure do!" Sonic exclaimed, holding out a ring to Samus. In turn, he received a missile capsule like Zelda. "Have you seen Red or Snake?"

"Red's in his room, and who knows where that son of a bitch went. Haven't seen him since the meeting."

Blinking, Sonic nodded slowly and gave a quick wave goodbye. One thing he'd also learned was that when Samus was mad, _she was mad._ It was always best to just stay out of her way and not provoke her even more; something he'd found out the hard way.

Like Samus had said, Red was in his room, and happily traded with Sonic. And no matter how hard Sonic looked, he never found Snake. After lapping the mansion a few more times trading items with other Smashers, he was left with one ring. And he knew just the person to give it to...

The question was, where _was_ he? That was another person who had mysteriously gone unaccounted for as Sonic zoomed through the mansion. And even though he didn't find the person he was looking for... he did find his brother.

"Hey Luigi!" Sonic called out, causing the plumber in green to jump and whirl around, clearly startled by Sonic's sudden appearance.

"Oh! H-Hello Sonic. D-Do you need something?"

Frowning slightly at Luigi's shyness - come on, he wasn't THAT scary - he responded, "I'm lookin' for Mario actually. Know where he is?"

"Oh, he's actually l-looking for you! He was heading up to the r-roof last time I checked."

 _'Makes sense,'_ Sonic thought. ' _That's where we were talkin' before.'_ Smiling, he raised a hand. "Thanks Luigi!"

"O-Oh, you're very welcome Sonic..." Luigi stuttered, but the hedgehog was already gone by the time he started talking. Taking a deep breath, he suddenly realized something. "Hey... he knew my name!"

/~/

"Ah, finally! I've been looking for you for ages!"

Those certainly weren't the first words Sonic was expecting Mario to say, but he shrugged and rolled with it. Twirling the ring on his finger he got a mischievous smile on his face then turned to Mario, suddenly looking dead-serious.

"Before we trade items, there's something important I need to ask you." Sonic started. Mario frowned, a flicker of concern in his eyes.

"What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Sonic got down on one knee and held the ring out to Mario. "Mario," he whispered. "Will you keep in contact with me?"

Mario's face deadpanned, and he just stared at his friendly rival for several moments in silence, before letting out a heavy sigh. "Will you get up off the ground?" he questioned. Sonic pouted.

"Answer the question first! C'mon, this is really uncomfortable."

"The fact that you're in that position, or the fact that you just fake proposed to me?"

"Just answer!" Sonic snapped. Sighing, Mario rolled his eyes and accepted the ring.

" _Sì_ Sonic, I'll keep in contact with you," he eyed Sonic suspiciously, eyes narrowed. "If you try to kiss me I'm going to punch you."

"Aw, you never let me have any fun," Sonic whined, sarcasm dripping from his words. After a moment he cracked up, and Mario couldn't help but chuckle lightly as well. Sonic's laughter was very contagious.

"Here," Mario said, handing Sonic a coin. "Because for some reason I want to keep in contact with you too."

Accepting the coin, the two stared at each other before Sonic spoke.

"We leave for Doppel tomorrow... are you ready?"

Mario sighed and stared up into the sky, noticing a few stars had already begun to twinkle. "Yeah... I think I'm ready." he finally murmured.

"Do you think you'll see your parents?"

Mario shrugged. "I don't know. Again, the Games are in Beijing, far away from where me and Luigi grew up. Chances are, my parents wouldn't go all the way there just to see us. They may not even recognize us... or maybe they would, considering we haven't aged very much since arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"What do you mean 'haven't aged much?'"

"Remember when I told you how when I went into the warp pipe, for Luigi I was gone for a really long time, but for me it was only a few minutes? Time seems to flow a bit slower in the Mushroom Kingdom, and even though we know we've been aging, it was nothing like it was on Doppel."

"Huh," Sonic folded his arms, letting the new information sink in. "Hey... how old are you anyway then?"

Mario let out a short laugh. "Twenty-five," he answered, Sonic doing a double take in surprise.

"Really? Wow, totally thought you were older than that."

Mario shrugged once again. "I got that a lot back on Doppel as well. It'll be strange being back there."

"Eh, you'll be fine," Sonic reassured. "What's really gonna be weird, is the fact that I won't have access to a guitar anymore. I think I know the first thing I'm buying when I make it back to my world."

"You have improved," Mario agreed. Grinning, he added slyly, "I'm impressed that you managed to keep a hobby that involves you sitting still for long periods of time."

"Oh, shut up!" Sonic snarked back, playfully shoving Mario. The two laughed, then Sonic turned to the door and jabbed at it with his thumb.

"We should probably go back in, ya know, catch some Z's. Don't wanna be tired tomorrow!"

Mario nodded in agreement, and the two headed back into the mansion, where the item-swapping was still going, but with less intensity then before. Sonic was struck with realization, and he turned to Mario. "Did you happen to see Snake anywhere?"

Mario frowned. "No... I take it you were asking around too?"

"Yeah, it's the least we can do since he kinda was our friend. Even if he did fall asleep that one time."

"Well, I'm sure we'll see him tomorrow. Everyone needs to go back to their worlds via the teleporters which are located in Smash Plaza; we all take the bus there at the same time, so there's no way he won't be there."

"He has already headed home."

Both Mario and Sonic jumped at the voice of Master Hand, floating behind them casually. "I do not know why, but he requested the bus take him there immediately after the meeting. I'm very sorry if you wanted to keep in contact with him at all, but he seemed rather distant from the idea."

"But... we didn't get to say goodbye." Mario murmured, while Sonic simply facepalmed.

"Why am I not surprised?" he groaned.

"Well, I'm sure if fate allows it, your paths may cross again one day," Master Hand then seemed to brighten, exclaiming, "But you two have a big day tomorrow. I wish the both of you the best of luck; Crazy and I will be watching."

"No pressure," Sonic muttered, to which Mario simply grinned at him.

"Anyway, it is late and I need to head to my office to make the necessary preparations for tomorrow. Instead of being teleported to your world, you will be teleported directly to Doppel near the location you need to be. I've already contacted someone from the committee to meet you in the designated area."

" _Grazie,_ " Mario said.

"Yeah, thanks," Sonic added. Master Hand wiggled his fingers, his way of nodding.

"Well, of course. Now then, I will be seeing you tomorrow." With that, Master Hand was gone, and the duo began to walk towards the dorms, feeling upset that Snake had up and left like that.

"I wonder why," Mario pondered. "I mean, he must have had a reason to do it."

"I'll never understand some of Snake's ways," Sonic commented. "He's an odd one, that's for sure."

Mario nodded, but the sense that there was something wrong he just couldn't shake. They eventually made it to the dorms, where they headed inside and said their goodbyes, Mario heading into his room and Sonic making his way down the hall to his.

And for some strange reason, Sonic could feel himself blushing again, and he still wasn't sure why.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Smash King24:** Yeah, Mario kinda deserved to win the battle, considering making Sonic win would be way too cliché. And Mario has more fighting experience than Sonic in general, taking their way of attacking in their games into consideration. Sonic curls up into a defensive ball to attack, while Mario is more hands-on with the enemy. **  
**


	9. Bus Ride

**Spoilers: For _Metroid Fusion_ , surprisingly.**

* * *

 _~Chapter Nine: Bus Ride~_

The Smashers were abuzz as they waited outside the mansion for the bus, bags of luggage strewn on the ground as goodbyes were exchanged with Master Hand, Crazy Hand, and R.O.B. The robot, having no home to return to, would be living in the mansion from here on out. A bittersweet ending for him, but at least he'd be somewhere he wasn't alone.

The same couldn't be said for Samus. She'd stated multiple times that the moment she set foot in her world again she'd be a felon, and it was that reason why Sonic broke off his goodbyes with the Ice Climbers and approached her curiously.

"So you never quite explained the whole 'I'm a felon' thing, Sam. We will be able to contact you, right?"

Samus sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. "You'll be able to contact me no problem. I'll be in my ship most of the time trying to keep away from the Galactic Federation. I blew up one of their stations when I found out they were illegally breeding Metroids, so they're pissed at me."

"Oh... is that all?" Sonic teased, Samus narrowing her eyes.

"Don't get smart with me, you rat." she seethed, causing Sonic to glare at her.

"Don't call me a rat," he growled.

"Then lose the attitude."

Mario, sensing tension between th _e_ two, made his way over and stood between his two friends.

"Is he bothering you?" Mario asked Samus.

"Yes."

Raising an eyebrow, Mario turned to Sonic. "Why?"

"Hey, I just wanted to know why she was a felon!" Sonic defended himself, throwing his hands up.

Mario sighed, and turned to Samus. "Come on you two, make up. It's the end of the tournament; you clearly like each other enough to want to stay in contact, so stop making it harder on yourselves."

Sonic and Samus sighed, then turned to each other; Sonic holding his hand out.

"Friends?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Rolling her eyes, Samus shook his hand.

"Friends," she sighed. Mario smiled, then looked down the road.

"Just in time too, the bus is here."

Indeed the large bus braked in front of the stop, the doors opening to reveal Kapp'n sitting in the drivers seat staring at the diverse group.

"Aye, make sure ye have everything ye need, 'cause we ain't comin' back if ye forget anything."

Immediately, the Smashers grabbed their bags and began to board the bus one at a time. Sonic noticed the seat behind Mario and Luigi was free and quickly slid into it, staring out the window at the mansion.

He thought it was strange how he was going to miss it so much, considering he was extremely hesitant coming here in the first place. He could remember the bus ride coming to the mansion, the way his anger had flared when Mario was mentioned. Now he was _friends_ with him.

"What are you thinking about?"

Sonic jumped, not realizing someone had sat next to him. What startled him the most though, was the fact that it was the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom herself, Peach.

"Uh," Sonic stumbled, not exactly knowing what to say. It's not like he'd never spoken to Peach before, but...

Peach giggled, clearly amused by the way Sonic had no idea how to speak to her. Meanwhile, the last of the Smashers had boarded the bus, the doors closing and the engine roaring to life as Kapp'n began to drive away, Master Hand and Crazy Hand waving goodbye while R.O.B sadly put his head down; not wanting his friends to leave. Most of the Smashers waved back, then immediately began chattering amoungst themselves as Kapp'n whistled a song.

"So," Peach began, clasping her hands together. "I'm excited to meet your friends."

Sonic, still in a mild state of shock, ran a hand through his quills and nodded. "Yeah, you know there's one I think you'll get along with quite well. She's about as pink as you are."

Giggling once again, Peach smiled at Sonic; an amused look in her eyes. "I'm sure I will," she said honestly, then looked at the two capped plumbers in front of them. "You know, I'm happy you're friends with Mario," she murmured in a much quieter voice then before. "That rivalry of yours was ridiculous. And nothing ever gets solved by fighting." she shot a particularly nasty glare in Bowser's direction. "I wish _some_ _people_ would learn that."

Wow. Now, Sonic had never thought that Peach was a ditzy princess, but that statement proved how much of a sharp tongue she had, and how vicious she could get when she wanted to. It made him wonder why she was constantly getting kidnapped, but he decided that wasn't a very kind question to ask. Instead, he steered the conversation to what was currently on his mind - the Olympics.

"So do you play many sports?" he asked. "Mario mentioned something about playing sports on your down time once."

"Oh, of course I get involved!" Peach began to list off various sports, from tennis to kart racing to soccer. Sonic couldn't help but snicker quietly, they really DID play too many sports in their spare time. And throw a lot of parties, apparently. It _did_ sound like a lot of fun though, and Sonic wondered if his friends would be down for some friendly racing sometime. When the world wasn't at stake, that was.

Realizing he hadn't been paying attention for the last couple of moments, Sonic tuned back in to Peach who was still rambling off sports. Finally, she stopped, pondering if she had listed all of them.

"I think that's it..." she murmured, smiling down at Sonic. "So you and your team better watch yourselves out there!"

"Oh we will!" Sonic shot back with confidence.

Peach smiled in amusement. ' _Him and Mario really are similar,'_ she thought, before peering out the window. "It seems we've arrived."

Turning his head, Sonic realized that they'd made it to Smash Plaza, the bus stopping outside a futuristic looking building that Sonic recognized as the one with the teleporters in it. Opening the doors, Kapp'n turned to the Smashers.

"Make sure ye take all yer belongings with ye, or it'll all go to donation!"

The Smashers began to stand, taking their luggage and yelling 'Thank you's' to Kapp'n as they filed out of the bus. Peach rose and grabbed her luggage, grinning at Sonic.

"Thank you for conversing with me," she exclaimed sweetly, following Mario off the bus. Staring at the back of the plumbers hat, she giggled to herself, almost as if she knew something no one else did.

Taking his bags in his hands Sonic exited the bus, making sure to thank Kapp'n, and followed the rest of the Smashers into the building where a couple of Mii's were directing them into the teleporter rooms.

"Alright, listen up!" a blonde Mii with a hint of a southern accent spoke. "We're gonna call your home worlds one at a time, so listen carefully or you're gonna miss your ticket home! Got it?"

The Smashers nodded, and a Mii with black hair spoke next.

"Those of you headed to the planet Doppel please follow me, as your teleporters are in a different area."

As Sonic and Mario's crew wandered away with the black-haired Mii, Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong watched with sad eyes; Peach turning and giving the two pats on the head before leaving with the rest of the group. The room they were led into was a lot brighter than the one the other Smashers were in, and the Mii headed over to a control panel, pressing a few buttons and glancing at the screen in front of her.

"Alright, I would like for all of you to please step in to that big teleporter there, because we're gonna send you all at the same time. Please make sure to take any and all belongings with you."

"How many times are we gonna be told that today?" Sonic whispered to Mario. Beside them, Yoshi giggled.

"Okay, is everyone in the teleporter?" came the voice of the Mii. After confirming that yes, everyone was present, she went to the control panel and shut the door with a _click._ After a few more button presses the machine began to hum, and Mario and Sonic exchanged a glance, they were minutes away from competing in one of the most watched sporting events. And for Mario and Luigi, there was the potential chance of seeing their parents again. The atmosphere was a mixture of excitement and nervousness, as a white glow surrounded the pod and in a flash of light they were gone, whisked off to the Planet Doppel. The Mii sighed, and glanced at the now empty pod.

"I guess their adventure truly begins now," she mused.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Guest: ** Well, here you go! I update every Wednesday unless something out of my control happens, I'm glad you're liking the story so far!


	10. Reunions and Roomates

**Minor Spoilers: For _Sonic Rush Adventure_**

* * *

 _~Chapter Ten: Reunions and Roommates~_

The shift had been instantaneous. One second they were in the teleporters in the gap between dimensions, and the next they were stepping out of the pod on a planet Sonic was not familiar with but the Mario brothers were. A Mii with her red hair tied back in a ponytail approached them, clipboard in hand.

"Is everybody alright? No one feeling nauseous at all?" she asked. The group looked at each other, then shook their heads. The Mii sighed in relief, holding her clipboard tight.

"Good, good," she began to shake the hands of the future Olympians. "My name is Sandra, Master Hand contacted me to make sure you made it to the Olympic Village and stadium alright. I am also one of the Mii's in charge here, and will be with you throughout the whole of the Olympics," she had a stern, yet friendly demeanor about her. "The rest of your teammates are already there, so if you'll follow me we'll get you on the bus."

At the thought of seeing his friends Sonic grinned wildly, being the first to step into the outside world; his eyes dancing over the new sights to take in. His strong sense of adventure kicked in; he wanted to dash across these new grounds leaving nothing but a blue streak in his wake, but he forcibly restrained himself. He was a guest on this planet, he couldn't go starting mayhem in the first few minutes he was here.

Mario exited the building next, followed closely by Luigi. The brothers looked around their surroundings, almost as if not believing that they were back on the planet they called home for so many years.

"This is weird," Luigi mumbled. Mario nodded slowly in agreement, before they both brushed past Sonic and onto the bus. Sonic stared after them, frowning slightly before following them onto the bus and collapsing in the seat in front of them.

"You guys alright?" he asked, turning to face them.

" _Sì_ , we're fine," Mario started. "It'll just... take awhile to get used to being back on this planet, that's all."

"Eh, you'll be fine," Sonic reassured. The rest of Team Mario boarded the bus, along with Sandra and a male Mii with light brown hair. Getting into the drivers seat, he started up the engine and turned to Sandra who in turn checked off everyone on her list. Satisfied, the doors closed and the bus began to make it's way towards the Olympic Village - and the rest of their friends.

Sonic bounced his leg up and down in anticipation, staring out the window. He couldn't wait to see everyone again, and he wanted to meet the other two members of Team Mario. From what he had gathered one of them was another princess, and the other was an evil doppelganger of Luigi; similar to what Wario was to Mario. They sounded interesting, that was for sure.

The bus ride was surprisingly short, and before long they'd made it to the Olympic Village where Sonic immediately dashed off the bus the moment he was allowed to do so. His eyes flicked over the scenery, and before he had a chance to do anything else a small ball of yellow-orange fur had barreled into him.

"Sonic!" the young fox exclaimed happily, breaking away from his "big brother" and grinning broadly. "I missed you so much, you won't believe what I've invented in the past year!"

Sonic simply grinned and ruffled his "little brothers" bangs. He was glad that Tails still seemed the same, if not a bit taller than he was before. Mario, being a bit curious, wandered over and Sonic grinned as he approached.

"Tails, I'd like to introduce you to Mario. Mario, Tails."

"Mario?" Tails questioned. "But don't you two hate each other?"

"We did," Mario started. "But we put aside our differences and realized that we'd be better off as friends then enemies. We're more 'friendly rivals' now, I'd think."

"Yeah, sounds about right," Sonic added. He was about to suggest that Tails should go meet Luigi, but he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something bright pink and headed straight for him.

 _'Oh no...'_

"SON-IIIC!"

Stumbling for a few moments, Sonic desperately looked for anything that could be used as a distraction... and saw Peach exiting the bus. Wasting no time, he grabbed her hand and basically flung her at the pink hedgehog; saying, "Princess Peach, this is Amy Rose, Amy, this is Princess Peach IthinkyoutwoaregoingtobereallygoodfriendsIneedtogonowbye!" And with that, the only evidence that Sonic had even been there was a strong gust of wind that nearly knocked Mario's hat off. Amy angrily stomped her foot on the ground, while Peach studied her curiously.

"You must be the friend Sonic was talking about with me," she mused, and Amy's eyes lit up.

"You mean my darling Sonic's been talking about me?! Oh, I knew it, I knew he was secretly in love with me!"

Peach, somewhat taken aback, stumbled on her words for a moment before whispering, "Oh dear," Meanwhile, Sonic had run into the building... and straight into Knuckles.

"You could watch where you're going," Knuckles stated dryly. Sonic just rolled his eyes.

"Nice to see you too, Knux."

"Ooh, so you're the famous Sonic I've heard so much about."

Turning, Sonic found himself face-to-face with a red-haired girl wearing an orange shirt and matching shorts, a confident smirk on her face. "I'm Daisy from Sarasaland, a neighbor of the Mushroom Kingdom. I was talking to one of your friends over there, you seem veeery interesting."

Curious, Sonic looked behind Daisy... and he swore he felt his heart skip a beat. He quickly composed himself however, and yelled out a friendly, "Hey Blaze! Glad you could make it!"

Startled, Blaze jumped, then relaxed and headed over to Sonic and Daisy.

"It is good to see you again as well Sonic. I'm glad you are doing well."

"Have the Jeweled Scepter and Sol Emeralds been kept safe?"

Blaze nodded. "Yes, there has been no need for worry as of late. However," her gaze shifted to a figure at the back of the room, eyes narrowing. "I have to ask why Dr. Eggman is here."

Sonic let out a nervous chuckle, turning to his nemesis who at some point had found Bowser and was conversing with him; both letting out over-the-top evil laughter at random intervals.

"Well... Mario invited Bowser, so it would only be fair to invite our villain..."

Blaze made a noise of disapprovement, but didn't push the topic further. Meanwhile members of Team Mario had begun to file into the building; Daisy grinned as she spied Luigi, waltzing over to him and kissing his cheek.

"Hey sweetie," she greeted her boyfriend, Luigi blushing at the action. Peach giggled at the flustered Luigi, then turned to her best friend. "It's good to see you again, Daisy!"

"Same here! Though I wish you'd got here a little sooner," she leaned in close and whispered in Peach's ear. "I was stuck conversing with Waluigi. It was like an awkward date."

"Yikes."

Mario had finally entered the building, a small smile on his face as he watched his and Sonic's teams conversing with each other. Sonic skidded to a stop next to him, folding his arms with a smile on his face too.

"Looks like everyone's gettin' along okay," he commented. "Well, 'cept for Shadow, but he doesn't really get along with anyone unless their names are Rouge an' Omega."

"Who's that talking with Yoshi?" Mario questioned.

"Oh, that's just Vector," Sonic explained, referring to the crocodile. "He's a detective, an' an old friend of Knuckles."

Mario was about to ask some more questions about Sonic's friends, but Sandra came walking in at that moment; quite loudly stating, "Will both Team Mario and Team Sonic come with me please? We're gonna get you settled in your rooms for tonight, and then tomorrow we'll go over the schedule."

Sandra turned on her heel and began to walk down a long corridor, Team Mario and Team Sonic following. Tails had at some point migrated to Sonic's side, and Amy had tried to do the same but Peach had held her back, distracting her with asking various questions about the girl which Amy was happy to answer. Even though Peach found her to be a tad... obsessive... she hoped she'd be able to become close friends with her.

They had finally made it into a circular room, where Sandra was conversing with yet another Mii, this one a few years younger and bouncing on her heels with a wide grin on her face. A digital camera swung from her neck, and the moment everyone was in the room she snapped a photo, giggling at the confused faces.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," her voice was full of energy, and was somewhat high-pitched. "I'm Pashmina, Pash for short, and I'm the one that's in charge of your rooming arrangements!" she pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, and cleared her throat. "Now, everyone has a roommate, and I want no complaining about it!" she shot a look in Shadow's direction, to which Sonic stifled a laugh. "And also, everyone has been paired with someone that's not from their world. Because we're all friends here!" she pumped her fist in the air, while Team Mario and Team Sonic felt the cringe levels rising quickly in the room. Sandra caught note of this, and quietly told her sister to tone it down a notch.

"Okay, so rooming arrangements!" Pash continued brightly. "In room 101 we have the main duo themselves, Mario and Sonic!"

That made sense. The friendly rivals glanced at each other and nodded, seemingly pleased with the decision.

"Moving on, in room 201 we have Luigi and Tails!"

Tails and Luigi exchanged a look, not out of malice though. Instead, they were curious as to how they'd get along, being the younger siblings of two ex-rivals.

"In room 301 we have Wario and Knuckles!"

A...strange pairing, but perhaps something akin to friendship could be achieved with it.

"Room 401, Dr. Eggman and Bowser!"

Mario's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in disbelief. Sonic, just as flabbergasted, whispered to him, "Was that really a good idea, putting the two villains in a room together? Like, was she not thinkin' at all?"

Mario just shook his head slowly, as Pash continued to read off roommates. Waluigi and Shadow, Yoshi and Vector, Daisy and Blaze and Peach and Amy. Pash looked up from her list with sparkling eyes, motioning for Team Mario and Sonic to follow her. They found themselves led to a different building, this one resembling more of an apartment block. As they entered the main lobby, Pash spoke up again.

"So each of your rooms is on a different floor then the others. There's stairs and an elevator, and, um... there's a brief schedule in each of your rooms, so you won't miss out on important things you all need to attend. I guess that's it, I'll let you all get settled into your rooms and I'll see you at dinner I suppose!"

With that Pash stepped out of the building, and the teams began to break into their little groups of two. Tails, while disappointed that he wouldn't be sharing a room with his big brother, found that Luigi was in a similar predicament. Realizing that was something they had in common, he began to converse with the plumber in green, not realizing their older brothers were watching them.

"Well they seem to be getting along just fine." Sonic commented. He watched as Daisy and Blaze headed up the stairs to their room, Daisy chattering away while Blaze politely nodded. He snickered, Blaze had always been a bit on the shy side. Maybe Daisy could help break her out of her shell.

Mario watched Sonic closely, noticing how his gaze had focused on the lavender feline. He raised an eyebrow, smirking somewhat as he put the pieces together in his mind. ' _Looks like Sonic has a crush,'_ he thought. Tapping Sonic on the arm, he said, "Come on, we should head to our room."

"Right, right," Sonic grabbed his bags, and together they climbed the stairs to the first floor, where they found their room and headed inside.

Sonic was impressed. The room was quite big, bigger then the ones they had in the Smash Mansion. Immediately, he raced over to the bed to the left of the window, belly-flopping onto it and declaring, "This one's mine!"

"Okay Sonic," Mario chuckled, setting his bags down and beginning to unpack. He disappeared into the bathroom to put some things in there, while Sonic unzipped his bags, then shook a few items loose from his quills. Unfortunately for him, Mario had exited the bathroom as he was doing this, and just stared at his new roommate with a strange expression.

"You have bags though..." Mario trailed off, while Sonic just shrugged.

"Well sometimes I need to have a few items on hand, and where else am I gonna keep 'em?" He picked up one of the items he'd shaken loose - Pit's feather. He stared at it for a moment wondering if he should check in on his angelic friend, then shook his head and began to place the various items he'd gotten from the Smashers on his night-side table. Chances were that Pit was busy unpacking as well, and probably didn't want to be bothered.

Shaking his head, Mario continued to unpack, then noticed something on his own night-side table. Picking it up, he realized it was a schedule for when meals were, as well as what time they needed to be awake for tomorrow.

"So dinners at seven," Mario read, Sonic quickly glancing at the digital clock.

"It's only three!" he exclaimed, dramatically flopping onto his bed. "That's four hours away, what could _anyone_ possibly do in four hours?

"Finish unpacking?" Mario suggested, glancing at both of Sonic's unzipped bags. Sonic stuck out his tongue, then got to work in unpacking his stuff. However as Mario quickly realized, Sonic was incredibly slow at unpacking, the irony not lost on him as he watched the hedgehog half-amused and half- exasperated. Shaking his head once again, he lay on his bed and began to read a book Link had suggested to him.

Mario had lost all track of time, and by the time he looked up at the clock it was six-thirty, he was a quarter way through his book... and Sonic by the looks of it had just finished unpacking. Noticing Mario's disbelieving stare, he retaliated with a glare that said 'shut up' written all over it and tossed his empty bags underneath his bed.

"So does that also mean you're one of those people that procrastinates on packing as well?" Mario asked. Sonic gave him an unamused look, then sighed and nodded.

"Yeah," he confessed. Looking at the time, he raised an eyebrow. "You think we should head down to the lobby or wait a few more minutes?"

"Lets head down now. I don't think anyone will get mad at us for hanging out down there."

Together, the two headed out of the room, and as soon as Mario locked the door Sonic stated, "I may be slow at unpacking, but I'm still the fastest thing alive! Race ya!"

"You're on!" Mario cried, both of them taking off down the stairs. However, both of them ended up tripping thanks to how fast they were going, falling down the stairs and collapsing in a heap at the bottom; glancing at each other before bursting out into loud laughter that they were sure the entire building could hear.

"Too bad no one was recording that," Sonic wheezed, clutching his stomach. "Man Mario, I don't think I've ever been happier to be your friend than in this very moment."

And the truth was, Mario felt the same.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Cool Guy 2:** Oh, let's just say that Peach knows a little bit more than what she lets on sometimes...  
It's true, you don't really see much fanfiction with Sonic and Samus interacting. I've read a few, but they're very few and far between, which is a bit of a shame since I feel they do have a good dynamic together, strictly because of how different their personalities are.  
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to point out that I took Doppel from doppelgänger! When I came up with the idea for the planet, I was a bit stuck since I couldn't call it Earth but I still needed a setting for the Olympics. That's when I decided to just make it a doppelgänger, same geography and everything, just inhabited by Mii's and a few humans and more technologically advanced.  
I'm glad you're liking the story so far, and I hope you like what's to come!

* * *

 **AN: Sandra and Pash are OC's of mine that originated from Neopets. Even though I haven't played Neopets in years, I'm still very much attached to the characters I created, so I figured I'd throw my two favourites in this story because I needed Mii's anyway.**

 **~Steel**


	11. Obligatory Nighttime Talk

_~Chapter Eleven: Obligatory Nighttime Talk~_

Dinner was held in a banquet hall, not unlike in the Smash Mansion. While they were eating, they were informed that the next day would begin a week of training that would then be followed by the opening ceremony. While Sonic would have preferred starting immediately he realized the importance of training, especially for those who hadn't been in a fighting tournament for a year.

After dinner Mario and Sonic had headed to Tails and Luigi's room; Sonic wanting Tails to get to know the brothers a bit more, and also just to catch up since they hadn't seen each other in a year. While there, they also discussed their other plan of action - to see if they could possibly find Mario and Luigi's parents. And while Sonic wanted to start the search right away, Tails reminded him that it was already late at night; they needed to get their sleep to get ready for training tomorrow, the Mario brothers agreeing.

Entering their room, Sonic flopped down on his bed face-down, mumbling, "What time do we need to get up tomorrow?"

Checking the schedule, Mario responded, "Eight."

"Well, at least it's a bit later then it was at the Smash Mansion," Sonic continued. Looking at his keepsakes, he frowned. "I wonder how everyone else is doin'."

"They're probably fine," Mario replied, taking a pair of pajamas out of his dresser drawers. Stepping into the bathroom to change, he said, "Maybe tomorrow we can try to get in contact with someone."

Sighing, Sonic tossed the covers on his bed aside and crawled under the warm blankets. Truth was he really didn't want to go to sleep yet, but if Mario was already getting changed into his pajamas it looked like he had no choice. Mario exited the bathroom a few minutes later, Sonic doing a double take at his roommates attire.

"Mario... it's the middle of summer. Why the _heck_ are you wearin' flannels?"

Mario shrugged, switching off the light and crawling under his own sheets. "I always wear flannels."

"Doesn't it get too warm though?"

"Sonic," Mario started, eying the hedgehog with annoyance. "I don't question you on your clothing choice, so don't question me on mine."

"Fine, fine," Sonic groaned, rolling over on his bed and facing the opposite direction. After a moment though, a thought popped into his head and he turned to face Mario again. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"You already have," Mario mumbled. Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Another question."

Sighing, Mario sat up in bed and stared down Sonic. "Fine, what is it?"

"What's the deal with you and Peach?"

The atmosphere in the room immediately shifted, and even in the dark Sonic could tell Mario's eyes had gone wide with shock. After a moment Mario lowered his head, eyes focused on the bedding.

"...I was... I still kind of have a crush on her," he finally whispered; Sonic nodding, figuring that was the case.

"But," Mario continued. "I don't think she feels the same way about me."

"Why do you say that?" Sonic asked, genuinely curious.

Mario sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "We kind of... went out once," he said softly, his voice lowering again. "It was sort of a date, but not really. Nothing really became of it afterwards though."

"Huh," Sonic commented. "Did you ever question her about it?"

Mario shook his head. "No, I figured if she wanted to bring it up she could bring it up. And besides, I didn't want to ruin our friendship, and at the end of the day that's what truly matters. I have her friendship, and that in itself is a precious gift. I'd never want to do something that would make her uncomfortable."

Sonic was quiet for a moment, letting Mario's words sink in. He noticed that Mario looked sombre though, and he felt a pang of concern deep in his stomach.

"...Mario?" he questioned. "Are you... alright?"

Sighing Mario lifted his eyes to meet Sonic's, forcing a smile. "There's just a lot of things on my mind, it always happens at night. But don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Sonic didn't look convinced, but didn't push the topic further. "Okay..." he murmured. Hesitating, he added, "But if you ever need to talk... I _am_ here. Just remember that, m'kay?"

When Mario didn't respond Sonic sighed and turned in the opposite direction, wrapping the blankets tighter around himself and attempting to get comfortable. It was hard for him to not feel mildly disturbed by Mario's abrupt attitude change though, considering it was a stark contrast from what he was usually like. After a few moments, Mario spoke again.

"...I..." he started, hesitating. "Actually, I do need to get some things off my chest."

Sonic tossed his covers aside and went over to sit next to Mario, slinging an arm around his shoulder.

"Okay then..."

/~/

It was eleven when Sonic finally retreated to his own bed, Mario sleeping peacefully in his. He let out a heavy sigh as he crawled back underneath his covers, sending another concerned look in Mario's direction. He had _no idea_ how much Mario's adventures really affected him until tonight, and it made him want to pummel the living daylights out of Bowser for putting him through so much. Sonic hoped the overgrown turtle had thanked his lucky stars tonight that they weren't at the Smash Mansion anymore.

As it turned out, Mario was a lot less cheerful than he let on, borderlining on depression even. It was clear that the strain of being the hero had taken it's toll on him, but he couldn't do anything about it. As he'd put it, he was a beacon of light for the whole Mushroom Kingdom; if he showed any signs of weakness the citizens would fall into a panic. It was to the point where he hadn't even told Luigi, for fear that his own brother would lose faith. Sonic didn't think so though. Mario and Luigi had the strongest sibling bond he'd ever seen, there was no way anything could change that. After some persuading, Mario had assured Sonic he'd talk with Luigi about how he was really feeling. It was still highly disturbing to Sonic though, he'd never seen Mario in such a broken up state before. It really made him feel concerned about his well-being.

Staring up at the ceiling, Sonic traced patterns in the uneven surface with his eyes; thinking. Finally he turned his head to look at Mario's sleeping form, silent for a moment before whispering, "Sweet dreams."

With that he closed his eyes, falling into a somewhat restless sleep.


	12. Sonic's Aquaphobia

**Spoilers: For _Sonic Adventure_ (though really, does it need a spoiler warning when the game is 17 years old?)  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twelve: Sonic's Aquaphobia~_  


Mario was the first one to wake up the next morning and quickly glanced at the clock, the bright red numbers blinking seven in the morning. Yawning, he stumbled out of bed and looked over at the adjacent bed; Sonic snoring loudly and tangled in his bedsheets.

 _'I shouldn't wake him,'_ Mario thought. ' _I put him through a lot last night.'_ Instead, he quietly entered the bathroom in order to get ready for the first day of training. He wasn't exactly sure what kind of training they'd be put through, but he was prepared for anything.

Half an hour later Mario exited the bathroom wearing his iconic outfit, expecting Sonic to have woken up; but found the hedgehog still snoring beneath his sheets, and by the look of it not planning on waking up for another few hours. Mario inwardly winced, wondering if he was the reason Sonic was so tired. But as much as he wanted to let him sleep, they had things to do today. Mario silently crept to Sonic's side, and gently shook his shoulder. "Come on Sonic, wake up."

Groaning in protest, Sonic responded by wrapping the covers tighter around himself and turning away from Mario. Annoyed, Mario shook him again; a bit harder this time. "You have half an hour Sonic, you need to get up."

No response. Frustrated, Mario looked around the room to see if there was anything he could use to possibly wake up Sonic... before his eyes rested on his pillow. A devilish smile spread across his face as he grabbed the fluffy object - hey, he and Luigi had used this method to wake each other up for years - and wandered to Sonic's side again. Grinning, he whacked Sonic in the head with the pillow yelling, "GET UP!"

"GAH!" Sonic shot straight up after having a very rude awakening, rubbing his temple and glaring daggers at Mario doubled over in laughter. "What in Chaos' name was _that_ for?!"

"You need to get up," Mario lightly stated between bouts of laughter. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Sonic usually would have come back with a snarky comment, but found he couldn't for two reasons. One - he'd just been hit in the head and his thoughts were still a bit fuzzy from the abrupt awakening, and two - he was relieved to see Mario smiling and laughing, a sharp contrast to what he'd been the night before. Moving the covers aside, he stood and placed a hand on his hip.

"So I guess you're feeling a bit better today, huh?"

Smiling, Mario nodded. " _Sì_. _Grazie_ for listening last night, and I'm sorry if that's the reason you're so tired."

Snorting, Sonic waved a hand in the air. "Trust me, it's not," he began to walk in the direction of the bathroom, calling over his shoulder, "I'm always lazy when it comes to wakin' up, unless the world is in danger."

Mario closed his eyes and let out a short laugh, sitting on his bed and deciding to wait for Sonic. After all, how long could he possibly take in the bathroom?

...

...

...

A _long_ time, it seemed. Staring at the door in annoyance, Mario wondered what on Doppel he could be doing in there. He'd heard the shower turn off minutes ago, and it's not like Sonic wore many clothes. Glancing over at the clock, he saw they had five minutes; slightly panicked he went to knock on the bathroom door.

"We have five minutes, Sonic." Mario warned.

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute..." Sonic's voice floated through the door.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly are you doing in there?"

The door flew open, and Sonic exited the bathroom looking slightly irritated. "I was shaving," he said simply, confusing Mario even more.

"Shaving... _what?_ " he dared to ask.

"My arms and chest of course," Sonic stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What, you just thought fur didn't grow there? 'Cause you'd be wrong buddy, dead wrong."

This only raised more questions, but Mario just gave a quiet, exasperated sigh and the two of them headed out of the room, this time being smart enough to not race down the stairs and embarrass themselves. Heading into the lobby, they found several of their teammates had already gathered there clearly waiting for one of the Mii's to tell them where to go. Tails and Luigi immediately gravitated towards their brothers, and Sonic was about to ask Tails what it was like rooming with Luigi when Sandra entered the lobby.

"Okay, is everybody here?" she asked, glancing down at the sheet of paper on her clipboard. Clicking her tongue, she let out a noise of aggravation before brushing past the two teams and storming up the stairs, muttering to herself. Quickly surveying the area, Sonic let out a quiet snicker.

"Looks like Shads and Waluigi are gonna get in trouble..."

"That was nearly us," Mario reminded him. Sonic grinned.

"But it _wasn't."_ he sang, Mario rolling his eyes and facepalming. Not even a minute later, Sandra reappeared with Shadow and Waluigi in tow, neither looking very happy. Waluigi immediately went over to stand next to Wario while Sandra stood at the front of the group, motioning for them to follow her.

They ended up back in the banquet hall that they'd had dinner in the night before, and Sonic took a seat between Tails and Mario, who in turn was sitting next to Luigi. Pash was just as bubbly as ever, standing up and clinking her spoon on her water glass, causing everyone to cringe at the loud noise.

"Okay everyone, listen up!" she announced in her shrill voice, with everyone flinching once again.

"It's too early for her to be that perky," Sonic mumbled to Mario, who nodded in agreement.

"So training starts today, and boy is it exciting! All of you will be training with your roommate, for convenience, and this is the list for today!" she dramatically unfurled a piece of paper, and cleared her throat. "So training in the pool today will be Mario and Sonic!"

Sonic felt his breath hitch, and felt the eyes of his friends on him. Tails nervously glanced up at his big brother, while Mario surveyed the situation with an odd look wondering what had Team Sonic so panicked. He'd noticed Sonic had gone unusually quiet, picking at his food and wearing a frown that definitely didn't belong on him.

What had him so worried?

He didn't get his answer until an hour later when the two of them were at the poolside, Mario doing a few warm-ups and Sonic glaring at the water like it was going to jump up and bite him. Finally he sighed, and hung his head in shame.

"I can't swim. I'm aquaphobic." Sonic muttered, Mario stopping his exercises and looking over at him.

"Well, that's a problem. Have you told anyone here that you can't swim?"

"Obviously _not,_ " Sonic shot back, Mario giving him an annoyed glare.

"Well don't take it out on me!" he snapped, before continuing in a calmer tone, "But if you can't swim you really need to tell someone so they won't make you compete in water-based events. The last thing anyone needs is you getting yourself seriously injured."

"I know, I know," Sonic groaned. "But it would be nice to get over my aquaphobia, ya know? Egghead's gonna realize at some point that I don't like water, and then he's gonna use that to his advantage. It was bad enough when I had to fight Perfect Chaos in a flooded Station Square, even though I was Super at the time it was still nerve-wracking."

Mario looked down, deep in thought. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he looked up.

"A lifejacket."

"What?" Sonic mumbled, confused.

"A lifejacket, that's how you're going to get over your aquaphobia!"

Sonic noticeably brightened at the suggestion, but then returned to frowning again. "It's a good idea, but won't that break a ton of rules?"

"Sonic," Mario stated, slinging an arm over the hedgehog's shoulder and beginning to lead them away from the pool. "Have you forgotten that we're well respected heroes? Somehow I don't think they'll have an issue giving you a lifejacket. And if they do, I'm your backup."

Sonic just stared at Mario for a moment, before he finally smirked, a small laugh escaping his lips.

"And here I thought _I_ was the rulebreaker. You're just full of secrets, aren'tcha?"

Mario shrugged, seemingly unaffected by Sonic's quip. "I guess...?" was all he said, leading them through the halls of the stadium, trying to locate where the offices would be. As they searched, Sonic began to feel strange again, kind of similar to how he'd felt when Mario had complimented his guitar skills.

It was only then he felt acutely aware that Mario's arm was still around his shoulder.


	13. The Parental Conundrum

_~Chapter Thirteen: The Parental Conundrum~_  


"Anything yet, Tails?"

"You really need to stop asking me that every five minutes. But no, nothing yet."

Groaning, Sonic flopped over upside-down on his little brothers bed, quills drooping to the floor. The disappointed upside-down figures of the Mario brothers didn't help his mood any, and he sat right-side up again; folding his arms in annoyance.

The four were currently engaged in 'Operation: Find Mario and Luigi's parents' with no luck thus far. Clicking his tongue, Sonic gave a sharp glare to the brothers.

"Are you guys _absolutely positive_ that your last name is Mario?"

"I think I know what my last name is, Sonic." Mario retorted, Luigi silently nodding in agreement.

"Well, you never know!" Sonic defended. "I mean, is _my_ name really Sonic? It's highly unlikely, since that's what all the animals on South Island took to callin' me when they saw how fast I was, an' as we all know I have limited memory of the first eight years of my life!"

"That's actually a good point," Tails murmured, glancing up from his Miles Electric. "But I don't think Mario and Luigi have any amnesia to speak of." he turned to look at them. "Do you?"

"No." the brothers responded in unison.

"It's just weird though..." Sonic pondered. "Not listed in the phone book, an' not a scrap of information about them on the Internet. It's like they just vanished."

"I guess we know how they felt," Luigi replied glumly. Mario lay a consoling arm on his brothers shoulder, looking downcast himself. They'd been hopeful, _so hopeful,_ that somehow they'd get to be reunited with their parents at long last, but it seemed like the universe had other ideas in mind. Sighing Mario stood, glancing at the clock.

"I think we've searched enough for the night. I don't think we'll find anything new."

"Are you sure?" Sonic questioned. "It's still early..."

"Mario has a point," Tails spoke up. "The opening ceremonies are tomorrow, and I don't think anyone wants to be tired for that."

"Right, right," Sonic remembered. Standing and stretching his arms, he gave Tails a quick hug and headed out of the room, Mario following. Heading back down to their room, Sonic flung open the door and collapsed on his bed.

"Man, sorry we didn't find anythin'," he mumbled, pulling himself into a sitting position. Mario shrugged, folding his arms.

"Somehow I knew we wouldn't." he responded. Sonic frowned.

"Hey, that sounds like you're givin' up. C'mon, there has to be _some_ sort of lead we can get," he was about to launch into an over-dramatic speech about how it was fate that he was back on Doppel, but something caught his eye. Something glowing on his night-side table.

"Huh?" Curious, Sonic noticed Pit's feather was glowing a brilliant blue; picking it up he felt a surge of energy run through him, almost like a mild electric shock.

"I think he's trying to contact you," Mario breathed; Sonic just staring at the feather in shock before a small beam of light exploded from the center, dissolving into a hologram of Pit.

"Pit?!" Sonic yelped, and Pit - realizing he'd been able to contact his friend - beamed wildly and waved hyperly.

"Sonic! I'm so glad I was able to contact you, how were the Olympics? Did you win a lot of gold medals? Did you beat Mario?"

"Whoa, slow down there buddy, the Olympics haven't even started yet," Sonic chuckled, while Pit's eyes went comically large.

"What do you mean, it's been a month!"

"Actually Pit, it's only been about a week for us." Mario clarified, standing next to Sonic and deciding to join the conversation.

"Oh, hey Mario! I was gonna contact you next, but this is even better!"

"So what have you been up to, Pit?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, well the Centurians have needed some extra training, and being the captain of Lady Palutena's army, I've kinda been in charge of that. Other than that it's been really quiet around here recently. Personally I don't think we have anything to worry about, but now I've probably jinxed it."

"Pit?" a female voice from the background sounded, and Pit nervously swallowed. "Are you up past your bedtime again?"

"N-no Lady Palutena, I-I'm just going now!" Pit stammered. "Sorry guys," he whispered. "Looks like we'll have to talk some other time."

Mario bit his tongue to hold back his laugh, while Sonic simply grinned. "No problem buddy, talk to you soon!"

"Bye!" Pit yelped, the connection going dead. Quietly snickering, Sonic placed the feather back on his night-side table, before taking a deep breath.

"Can't believe it's already tomorrow..." he mumbled, just loud enough so Mario could hear. "I mean, dude, think about that for a minute. We're competing in the _Olympics._ And people are going to be _watching_ it."

"Including Master Hand and Crazy Hand," Mario added, Sonic grimacing.

"Yeesh, forgot about them." he opened one of his drawers, pulling out a bright orange object. "At least I have this for water events. I'm still not totally comfortable with the fact that they're bending the rules, but I guess it's fine if I don't meet a watery death!"

"Like I'd let you die," Mario stated. "Again, I may not be certified, but no one is ever going to die under my care."

Sonic nodded. "Right."

The two just stood in a comfortable silence for a minute, until Mario spoke again.

"We need to get our sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a real busy day for us - all of us."

Sonic nodded, tossing his covers aside and crawling into his bed while Mario went to go get changed. After a few minutes Mario emerged from the bathroom and flicked the light, getting into his own bed.

Both of them could feel the nervous yet excited tension in the air.

/~/

"Okay, so going over the routine again, Mario and Sonic will be front and center, while their teammates stand behind them, in front of the Olympic Torch. The crowd will cheer, fireworks will go off, and then you'll leave the stage single-file and we can all be happy it's over."

If Team Mario and Team Sonic thought they'd been nervous wrecks all day, it was nothing compared to Sandra, who had been busy with Pash and a few other Mii's setting up for the opening ceremonies. Now with only a few minutes left to go, it was clear she was stressing and wanted everything to be _perfect._ And while members of both teams wanted to tell her that she'd done a good job, they feared that she'd take it more as an insult than a compliment. So they kept their mouths clamped shut, as they were led onto the stage with a mere five minutes left.

"Excited?" Sonic murmured to Mario, his friendly rival nodding in agreement.

"Of course. I feel like I should thank you again for letting us be here at all."

A short laugh from Sonic. "It was nothin', really. I mean, who else was I gonna invite? Snake? Link? Could you really imagine that?

The image of Snake bouncing on a trampoline popped into Mario's mind, and he stifled a hysterical giggle as Sandra walked by again, clearly trying to calm herself down.

"Okay guys, we have sixty seconds!"

Act natural. Calm down. Breathe. That's what all the competitors - well, mostly all of them - were telling themselves to do as the countdown on the huge jumbo screen ticked down, hearts thudding and excitement palpable in the air.

"Thirty seconds!"

Mario and Sonic exchanged another quick glance, both wearing wide smiles on their faces. The countdown continued.

Five... Sonic closed his eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling it all a moment later.

Four... Mario gulped, feeling his heartbeat accelerate.

Three... Sonic smoothed down his quills, wanting to look his best in front of thousands of people.

Two... Mario adjusted the cap on his head, making sure it was on straight.

One... Both of them stared forward into the crowd, ready for it to start.

The spotlights came on. The crowd cheered as colourful fireworks exploded in the night sky above.

It was finally time.

/~/

Meanwhile, far away on the same planet, an older couple sat on their couch watching the opening ceremonies. A single tear slipped down the cheek of the woman, while her husband wiped it away with his thumb.

"Our sons..." she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know, dear," he replied, stroking her hair. "I know."

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **Cool Guy 2: ** Aw, thank you! Shadow and Waluigi were most likely fighting, since their special team animation in the Sochi and Rio Wii U Olympic games have them posed as enemies/rivals. As for Luigi and Tails... we got to see them this chapter, I like to think they get along just fine. I'm so glad that you're liking this story so far, I hope you continue to enjoy it!

* * *

 **AN: And there's chapter thirteen! The opening cutscene of the first Mario & Sonic game is what inspired the opening ceremonies here, and it also helped inspire a part of next chapter. Anyway, thank you for reading, please review and I'll see you all next week!  
**


	14. Till I See You Again

_~Chapter Fourteen: Till I See You Again~_  


The Olympics were going better than hoped. Each team did their best in every single event they competed in, and it was quite obvious that everyone - even Shadow - was having a lot of fun. Gold medals were won on each side, as well as silver and bronze.

But nobody won more gold medals than Mario and Sonic.

If it wasn't obvious that the two were long-time rivals before, it was certainly obvious now. Every single time the two of them faced off in an event together it would end with both of them in the lead by a long shot, refusing to let the other one win. Of course it was all in good fun though, as evidenced when they clasped hands at the end of their events, words of praise being exchanged instead of words of scathing hatred. And it wasn't just Mario and Sonic who were getting along with each other either; Tails and Luigi had developed a strong brotherly-like bond, while Amy and Peach acted as if they were long-lost pals. Blaze and Daisy weren't quite as close as the other girls were, but the beginnings of a friendship were still there.

What was most concerning though, was how well Bowser and Eggman were getting along. And even though Mario and Sonic were pretty sure they wouldn't try any funny business, they kept a watchful eye on them, just in case.

Of course the Olympics couldn't go on forever though; even though both teams were having a great time competing and making friends with each other, the sad reality hit when the final event was over and done with, Peach wandering away with a gold medal in archery. A heavy silence hung over the stadium as they realized that tomorrow was the closing ceremonies, and the day after that they'd have to leave for their homeworlds.

"Y'know, I kinda got used to having you as a roommate," Sonic commented, reaching under his bed for his bags. He needed to start packing now, or else it was never going to get done.

"Same here," Mario agreed. "Even if you do snore too loudly and take forever in the bathroom."

"Oh, shut up!"

"Is that how you talk to the person who won more gold medals than you?" Mario questioned slyly.

Sonic stiffened for a moment, before calmly turning to Mario. "I still beat you in all the track an' field events."

"Well I beat you in every event that involved water."

Sonic desperately tried to come back with a snarky comment, but kept stuttering; his mind drawing a blank. To Mario, he kind of sounded like a dying motor on a boat.

"Dang it, you win." Sonic muttered.

Mario grinned, then watched as Sonic carefully stuffed his keepsakes in his quills. He momentarily wondered how they didn't fall out, before noticing Sonic was holding onto the coin he'd given him, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Kinda unfair how we're the only one's who'll be able to stay in contact with each other, huh?" Sonic lamented, twirling the coin between his fingers. Mario nodded, picking up Sonic's ring and staring at it.

"Sure is, especially since Luigi and Tails are such close friends. I've never seen Luigi be so open with someone other than me or Daisy before."

"Well, I mean you live with Luigi... and I'm usually with Tails, so it won't be too difficult for them to stay in contact," sighing, Sonic continued, "But everyone else is outta luck... I feel kinda bad."

" _Sì_."

Silence fell over them as they tried not to think about how heartbroken their friends would be over having to say goodbye. Suddenly Sonic snapped his fingers, an idea forming in his head.

"Well, what about if we schedule meet-ups; we all decide on a day and time, gather everyone up and contact each other? Would that work?"

Mario pondered on the idea for a while, then nodded. "That's actually a good idea," he mumbled. "I really wish I'd thought of that."

"Eh, we can't all be geniuses like me," Sonic gloated. Mario's face went blank; he slowly turned to face Sonic, blinking several times much to the hedgehog's chagrin.

"You keep telling yourself that." Mario teased, a small smile on his face. Sonic stuck out his tongue rather childishly, returning to his packing.

"In all honesty though," Sonic continued. "This probably isn't the last time we'll see each other. Tails can probably modify his own transporter - that's how we got Blaze here after all."

"Hmmm... I wonder if Professor E. Gadd could possibly help us out on our end..."

Another bout of silence ensued, though not an uncomfortable one. Finally Sonic zipped up his bags, looking pleased with himself.

"Well, that's one thing I don't need to worry about!" he exclaimed, flopping down on his bed. "So, it's still early, what do you wanna do? We can always try looking for your parents again."

"Sonic," Mario began, looking downcast. "I think that's a lost cause. We looked for how many hours that one day, and nothing. And even of we did find something, it's too late. We leave in a day and a half."

Sonic bit his tongue to hold back the argument he felt building. Why was Mario being so stubborn about this? Yes, it was a little discouraging, but that didn't mean it was impossible! It wasn't until he looked at Mario again did his words die on his tongue.

Mario had brought his knees to his chest, looking like he wanted to cry. Worried, Sonic sat down next to him and wrapped an arm around him. To Sonic's surprise, Mario rested his head on the hedgehog's shoulder. "...I'm really going to miss you." he whispered, to which Sonic silently nodded.

"...I'm gonna miss you too buddy. I'm gonna miss you too."

/~/

"Okay, the teleporter for the Mushroom Kingdom is ready to go!" Sandra called from behind her computer screen. Mario turned to Sonic, a small, sad smile on his face.

"Looks like it's time for us to say goodbye..."

Sonic sighed, running a hand through his quills. "Yeah, guess so..."

Around them, their friends were saying goodbye to each other, Tails thanking Luigi for letting him see how his Poltergust worked, Amy telling Peach how much she was going to miss her company, even Knuckles and Wario were sad to say goodbye.

Taking a deep breath, Mario held out his hand, and Sonic chuckled before clasping it in his.

"It was nice getting to know you better Sonic. May we meet again."

Sonic's mouth twitched upwards into a smile. "We will," he confirmed. "It's not like the story is just gonna end here!"

Mario frowned, confusion in his eyes. "Story...?" he questioned.

"Oh, nothin'," Sonic dismissed. "It's nothin', don't worry 'bout it."

Slowly, the two broke apart, Mario and his friends heading into the teleporter. Sandra closed the door, tapped a few keys on her computer, and a whir came from the device; a blinding light enveloping the whole thing. Just before they were teleported back to the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario gave Sonic a thumbs-up, Sonic returning the gesture.

And just like that, they were gone.

"Bye..." Tails whispered from next to Sonic, and Sonic looked down to see Tails wiping away a few tears.

"Aw, cheer up buddy! It's not like we're never gonna see 'em again."

"I know," Tails murmured sadly. "It doesn't make me feel any better though."

"Okay guys! Your teleporter is ready!" Sandra informed. Ruffling his little brothers bangs, they stepped into the teleporter, their friends following as the doors closed and the very familiar whir started up again.

As soon as Team Sonic were safely back in their homeworld, Sandra let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair, thankful it was all over and done with.

"Well Master Hand, mission accomplished." she mumbled to no one in particular.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **4evralone:** I hope they get to see their parents again too. It would suck if they never got to after all this time. Don't worry though, they are making another appearance in this fic. Whether it's a good or bad appearance though... I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;)


	15. An Omen of Things to Come

**Spoilers(?): For _Sonic Unleashed_ and _Sonic & The Black Knight_.**

* * *

 _~Chapter Fifteen: An Omen of Things to Come~_  


If there was one thing Sonic lived for, it was the adrenaline rush he got from running. Nothing quite matched the feeling of his heart pumping in his chest as he zipped around the landscape, loving the feeling of the wind in his quills, the feeling of complete and total _freedom._ It felt nice to finally be in his natural habitat again, not romping around in the night as a transformed "were-hog" or slaying enemies with a smart-mouthed sword. Not that he'd had any sort of issue with either of those things mind you (and he had to admit that he'd found Merlina and Sir Percival to be quite pretty), but it just didn't match his passion for tearing through the land, the world becoming nothing more but a blur of colours in his eyes. _  
_

But if there was another thing he lived for, it was chili dogs. Hey, just because he was a free spirit didn't mean he didn't get hungry, and it was this thought that brought him to the Mystic Ruins to check in on his little brother... and grab a bite to eat of course.

"Yo Tails!" Sonic greeted as he skidded to a stop next to the young fox who was tinkering with his Miles Electric. Tails seemingly wasn't fazed by his big brothers sudden appearance as he was quite used to Sonic randomly showing up and leaving within the blink of an eye; instead he opted to lazily glance over at him and smirk.

"I hear your voice is still cracking," he teased, Sonic making a face as he stalked over to the fridge.

"Yeah, yeah, quit remindin' me." he muttered, grabbing a leftover chili dog. Downing it in record time - he was _far_ too impatient to actually heat it up - he was about to head off again, until Tails remembered something and snapped his head up.

"Wait, before you go, a letter came for you!" Tails exclaimed, holding up a crisp white envelope. Curious, Sonic took the letter and examined it, before tearing it open and reading it's contents. A smirk slowly spread across his face as Tails watched curiously, wondering what could possibly have got his brother in such a good mood.

Letting out a laugh, Sonic reached into his quills and produced the shiny golden coin from Mario, twirling it in his fingers as he exclaimed, "Well Tails, looks like we're going back to the Olympics!"

/~/

Meanwhile in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario had just finished visiting Peach and was walking home, enjoying the sights of Toad Town around him. And even though he had just stopped Bowser's evil plans once again, anxiety clawed at his stomach as he knew it wouldn't be long before the Koopa King attempted to kidnap Peach once again.

He sighed, staring into the clear blue sky above. Bowser had caused this whole kingdom so much grief so many times seemingly never wanting to give up. The mental strain it put on him was overwhelming sometimes, and he knew that it was taking a toll on Peach as well. They couldn't do anything about it though, as Bowser wanted Peach for her mysterious gift of white magic and she certainly couldn't leave the kingdom she ruled over. And with Bowser slowly learning how to nullify her power... Mario shuddered, blocking his mind off from the dark thoughts that plagued his mind. Happy thoughts, Mario, happy thoughts. Think of your friends from the Smash Mansion, like Link, Pit, Samus, Snake, Fox, Sonic...

And of course he had his brother. Sometimes Mario didn't know what he'd do if something ever happened to his precious younger twin. After all, they were the only family they seemed to have left anymore.

Mario found Luigi out in the front garden, and was seemingly waiting for him to return from the castle. He held an envelope in his hands, and handed it off to Mario the moment he stepped through the gate.

"This came for you, I don't know where it's from or what it says, but it looks important."

Frowning, Mario took the envelope and opened it, unfolding the paper inside and reading carefully while Luigi watched over his shoulder. A smile graced Mario's face as he wandered inside the house, picking up Sonic's gold ring.

"Looks like you'll be seeing Tails sooner rather than later, Luigi!" Mario called to his brother. "We've been invited back to the Olympics!"

/~/

It wasn't long after that when Mario and Sonic contacted each other, Tails and Luigi joining in on the conversation too. And while they were ecstatic to see each other again, there was one burning question on their minds.

"Why so soon though?" Sonic wondered, his voice cracking in the process. He winced while Mario lightly chuckled.

"Well, according to my research, time flows faster on Doppel than it does here and in the Mushroom Kingdom," Tails explained, holding up his Miles Electric. "In fact, time here flows a little bit faster than the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Okay, that makes sense," Sonic mumbled, turning back to the hologram of the two plumbers. "So d'you guys know where this 'Christmas Village' in 'Vancouver' is?"

" _Sì_ , although like before we've never been there," Mario responded. "I'm excited to see what new events they have planned for us to compete in, considering it's the Winter Olympics this time around."

"Dude, if there's snowboarding I'm totally gonna ace it!" Sonic exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. Mario snickered.

"It's hard to take you seriously when your voice keeps cracking," he teased, causing Sonic to pout.

"Shut up, Mario."

"Okay guys, we get it, you can stop flirting now," Tails deadpanned, both Mario and Sonic clamping their mouths shut, Sonic's face tinting red in embarrassment.

"Ah, so THAT'S how we get them to be quiet." Luigi mused, Mario shooting his brother a glare. Tails giggled, causing a similar reaction from Sonic.

"Ha ha, very funny you two," Sonic snarked. "Anyway, we'll be seein' you two soon enough, so I'm gonna cut the connection before this one-," he shot another glare in Tails' direction. "-can say anythin' else."

"Aw, no fair!" Tails complained, while Luigi looked downcast. Saying their goodbyes, the hologram vanished and Sonic stuffed the coin back into his quills, face still pink from Tails' earlier remark.

What Sonic didn't realize was that Tails had noticed.

/~/

"So we've been invited back to the Olympics..."

"Not only that, my son was invited this time around too! And he's perfectly fine helping out with our little plan."

"Good, good. Metal Sonic said he'd help out as well, so we'll put those two together while we focus on our main goal."

"Starting our own Olympics and ruining everyone else's fun!" a pause, then, "And you're absolutely positive Mario and Sonic have no idea we can communicate to each other, right Dr. Eggman?"

"They don't have a clue, Bowser. They don't have a clue..."

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Mrs. Needlemouse: ** I'm much prouder about having Sonic break the fourth wall than I should be. And thank you so much, I'm glad you've been enjoying the story so far! And all I can say about London is that it will be interesting. ;)

* * *

 **AN: The thing about Peach being able to use white magic comes from _I believe_ the instruction book of the first Super Mario Bros. games(and just... her moveset in Smash implies some sort of magic), the rest is just a dark headcanon of mine. (Gee, what else is new with me and dark headcanons and general effed up things in my stories) I mean, I know that in Paper Mario the reason they gave for Bowser kidnapping Peach was that he has a crush on her, but as we've recently learned the Paper Mario universe is separate from the main universe. Meaning we still don't know Bowser's motives, and I find that _chilling._  
**

 **And another thing. As some of you _may_ know, the handheld versions of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic games starting with Vancouver have story modes. And while I won't be doing full on adaptations of them because that makes me want to jump off of a cliff, I will briefly summarize the events of the story, because why shouldn't they be mentioned in some sort of way?  
**

 **Anyway, that's enough of me rambling. Thank you for reading, please review and I'll see you all next week!**


	16. Cold Beginnings

_~Chapter Sixteen: Cold Beginnings~_  


They really should've known.

The winter Olympics had seemingly started off normal, with everyone arriving on schedule and getting settled into their rooms with their roommates. Since there were newcomers this time around, some of the rooming arrangements had been changed; like Yoshi now being with Silver and Vector being with Donkey Kong. Other than that though, everyone still had the same roommate, which was fine for all the competitors. Sonic was still suspicious about Bowser and Eggman being in the same room, but figured the Mii's knew what they were doing.

It was the next morning when things went a little lopsided. The heroes had woken up to complete panic from the Mii's in charge of the games, and from little snippets they heard here and there - since no one would calm down for five seconds to tell them what was wrong - they realized what had happened.

All the snow had mysteriously vanished, along with the rest of their teams.

Of course this sent both Mario and Sonic into an anxious frenzy over their little brothers, and they set out immediately looking for clues. Almost instantly, something that looked like a purple snowflake came flying towards them, screaming for help.

The heroes learned that his name was Frosty, and he was one of the six snow spirits in charge of making all the worlds snow. Upon learning that Bower and Eggman had kidnapped the other five, Sonic let out a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"See? I knew puttin' 'em in the same room was a bad idea! But does anyone ever listen to me? Nooo... I'm just the hedgehog that nobody takes seriously!" he kicked at the snow in annoyance, hands balling into fists.

Mario was silent as Sonic went off on his tangent, then turned to Frosty. "Do you have any idea where your friends could be?"

"I'm not sure, but could you please come to Frostown with me? I'm sure we'll find clues there if we look hard enough!"

Nodding in agreement, Mario turned towards Sonic who was still muttering things under his breath. Grabbing his arm they followed Frosty into Frostown, where he was able to make it snow again using his very limited magic. Meeting up with Toad, they set out on their journey to save the snow spirits and their friends.

Thankfully, it didn't take very long for Mario and Sonic to undo the damage Bowser and Eggman had done, finding each of their friends along the way and freeing each of the snow spirits. After a final showdown with Bowser and Eggman, it was over, snow was falling again, and the Olympics could finally start.

"I'm surprised they managed to come up with that plan in one day!" Sonic exclaimed, flopping down on his bed and grabbing his guitar - he'd been able to buy one back in his homeworld. Mario frowned, deep in thought.

"It is quite disturbing, isn't it? But didn't you say the doctors IQ was 300?"

Sonic grimaced, plugging the guitar into the amp he'd brought with him. "Yeah... guess it's not too farfetched when you think about it," he gave the strings an experimental strum, then tuned the ones that were necessary.

"Are you going to play that now?" Mario questioned, while Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, I've been behind on practicin' recently," making himself comfortable, Sonic suddenly thought of something and turned to Mario. "Hey, since you're here, why don't you listen to me play? It'd be nice to have some feedback that isn't 'Sonic, please stop playing I'm busy inventing things right now.' What do you say?"

Realizing he probably had no choice unless he physically left the room, Mario sighed and sat down on his bed, gesturing towards Sonic. "Well, go on then."

Grinning, Sonic took a deep breath and began to play, fingers dancing over the strings while he quietly sang along, cracking voice and all. And while Mario would admit that yes, Sonic had most definitely improved since his time at the mansion, the constant breaking of his voice made it difficult to take the song seriously; he found himself stifling his laughter all while feeling kind of bad about it since Sonic was his friend and he should be supporting him. Sonic seemed aware of this fact however, and placed his hand over the strings to quiet them, glaring daggers at Mario.

"I hate you sometimes," he commented flatly, which would have been more effective if not for the fact that his voice cracked _yet again_ , sending Mario into hysterics. After a moment, Sonic chuckled as well.

"Okay, I guess that was pretty funny." he admitted, readjusting his fingers on the guitar again. He continued to play, and while Mario was listening he reached into one of his bags to grab a book, as he learned it wasn't _too_ difficult to drown out Sonic. After a while Sonic snickered, quieting the strings again and the sudden stop to the music bringing Mario out of his book. He eyed Sonic warily, as he knew from experience that when Sonic started laughing it was near impossible to get him to stop.

"Dare I ask?" Mario sighed, Sonic waving a hand in the air.

"It's just... ah nevermind, you wouldn't find it funny."

"You don't know that," Mario pointed out. Sonic shook his head.

"Trust me, you wouldn't."

"Me, trust you?" Mario teased, Sonic retaliating with a glare.

"I swear, one of these days we're going to end up killing each other if left alone for too long," he muttered, unplugged his guitar from it's amp, gently placing the instrument back in it's case. "What time is is?"

"Uh," Mario glanced over at the clock. "Nine. Why, you getting tired?"

"Yep," Sonic replied, tossing his covers aside and crawling underneath the inviting covers. "Opening ceremonies are tomorrow, I wanna look my best in front of thousands of people."

Mario rolled his eyes, of _course_ that would be one of Sonic's number one priorities, and wandered into the bathroom to go get changed. After a few minutes he exited, slightly amused that Sonic was already slumbering. Flicking off the light he crawled underneath his own sheets, staring up at the ceiling with nervous anticipation for the next day's events.

/~/

There were barely any lights on in the stadium. In the audience were several Mii's, along with various Flicky's, Toads and Chao. All waiting in anticipation for what would truly be a memorable Olympic Winter Games.

Fireworks began to explode out in the night air above the stadium, and spotlights began to move across the excited faces of the audience. Eventually, one shone down just in front of the Olympic Torch, and Mario and Sonic stepped forward, glancing out across the audience.

The lights came on, revealing the rest of the competitors waving at the cheering crowd.

It was time for the Olympics to start yet again.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **lovemet123:** Well thank you! Running at such high speeds, I highly doubt Sonic would be able to see anything but a blur. As for Mario's depression, um, I didn't quite understand what you were trying to say, I'm sorry.


	17. Secretive

_~Chapter Seventeen: Secretive~_  


It was lightly snowing as Sonic trudged through Christmas Village, heading back to the hotel to take a nice hot shower and forget the events of the day. Namely, how he'd completely humiliated himself while competing in the skiing event. He absentmindedly rubbed a bruise on his arm and shivered as the snow melted into his fur, a reminder that you should always watch where you're going or else you were going to crash into the flags. Multiple times. Ending with you gracefully faceplanting in a snowbank while everyone, and he really meant EVERYONE, laughed at you.

Wandering past the fountain and stores, he turned just before the library and headed down the cobblestone pathway to the hotel. Sighing, Sonic opened the doors and stepped into the lobby, where he began to head up the stairs to his and Mario's room. Pulling the key from his quills, he went to unlock the door before Tails came running up to him, Miles Electric in hand and beaming wildly.

"Sonic!" he called, "You have to look at this, I found something!"

"Tails, can it wait until after I've taken a shower?" Sonic groaned. Tails then seemed to realize the state Sonic was in, and his eyes widened.

"What happened to you?"

"Bad experience skiing. What, you weren't watchin' it?"

Tails shook his head. "No, I was looking up something - just look!" he pushed the Miles Electric into Sonic's face, the hedgehog blinking as his eyes focused on what was in front of him. A look of shock crossed his face, before he grinned and ruffled Tails' bangs.

"Good job buddy. This is great, I'll head out right now."

"Weren't you about to take a shower though?"

Sonic - already heading towards the stairs - stopped and spun on his heel. "The shower can wait. This is far more important," he playfully winked, and in the blink of an eye he was gone, leaving behind only a strong breeze.

/~/

Mario knew something was up the moment Sonic entered their room at night.

The last time he'd seen Sonic was the accident at the ski course, and he'd slunk away looking embarrassed and dejected. Now he was abuzz with energy, practically bouncing off the walls with a goofy grin plastered on his face. Now Mario was used to Sonic being hyperactive, but in all honesty it was a bit disturbing in Mario's eyes. Setting his book down, he eyed Sonic warily before finally asking, "So what has you so happy?"

"Hm?" Sonic looked towards Mario, eyes sparkling. "Oh, nothiiing!" he sang, creeping out Mario even more. "Let's just say that I think tomorrow is going to be a _veeery_ interestin' day!"

Mario didn't know what to say to that, so he just nodded slowly and resumed reading his book. "If you say so Sonic, if you say so. Last time I checked it was just figure skating tomorrow, and you're not even participating."

Sonic snickered, but said nothing more. ' _Eh, you'll find out eventually,'_ he thought.

/~/

If Mario thought Sonic was a ball of energy the night before, it was nothing compared to how he was the next morning, bouncing his leg and staring out the window almost like he was waiting for something. It made him really curious, but he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer out of Sonic. He'd just have to wait and see what he was so excited about.

Not only that though, but Tails was acting quite strange as well according to Luigi. However, they seemed to be the only members of Team Sonic to be acting that way, as everyone else went about their day as normal.

What did they know that no one else did?

Well, he was sure that he'd get his answer eventually. Right now he concentrated on eating his breakfast, and planning on watching the figure skating today. Strangely, Sonic wasn't going to be attending, opting to quickly scarf down his breakfast and bail out into Christmas Village instead. Quirking an eyebrow he shook his head, finishing off his breakfast before heading over to the stadium with Luigi to cheer their friends on.

/~/

Hours later, Mario was exiting the stadium when Sonic bounded up to him, so excited that his tail was actually _wagging._

"Hey Mario, great timing, can you come with me for a sec? And bring Luigi too, I think you're both gonna like it."

Mario stared at Sonic strangely, folding his arms. "Sonic, you've been acting suspicious since last night. Can't you just tell me what has you acting this way?"

"An' ruin the surprise? I can't do that, that takes the fun out of it!"

Mario pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. After a moment he finally caved. "Fine, fine, I'll go get Luigi."

"Great! I'll be waitin' right here!"

Shooting Sonic a glare, Mario went off to search for his brother while Sonic bounced on his heels, giddy out of his mind. A few minutes later Mario returned with Luigi in tow, looking confused.

"What's this about Sonic?" he asked.

"Come with me and you'll find out!" Sonic promptly spun on his heel and began to head in the direction of the hotel, leading them through Christmas Village past all of the shops. It wasn't until they began to get closer to the hotel did they see two figures waiting for them.

Wait a second...

Luigi gasped, and Mario's throat tightened as he lay his eyes on the two humans in front of them, one an older woman wearing a warm winter parka, the other an older man who somewhat resembled Mario himself. Mario's eyes quickly flicked to Sonic, who was standing a bit away with a large grin on his face.

For a moment, nothing happened, both parties in complete shock upon seeing each other. Luigi was the first to act, running forward into his mothers arms, tears streaming down both their faces. Their father quickly joined in on the hug, and after a moment Mario cautiously stepped forward, still not quite believing the sight in front of him was real. He had to be dreaming, right?

It wasn't until Mario was pulled into the group hug by his mother did he finally break down, realizing that this _was_ real _,_ and it was happening right now and he was so... _happy_. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he tried not to cry, but in the end the tears won and he broke down with the rest of his family on the ground. They remained that way for several moments, no sound needed. Just two brothers finally seeing their parents again.

Sonic, who had been standing there watching the heartwarming reunion, quietly slipped away into the hotel. He figured the Mario Brothers would like some time alone with their parents, and he needed to thank Tails again for the information.

/~/

Sonic was playing his guitar and singing along when Mario returned to the room hours later. Immediately, Sonic quieted the strings and just stared at his friend who looked the happiest Sonic had ever seen him.

"You didn't need to stop playing just because I'm back." Mario pointed out. Sonic shrugged, standing and stretching.

"I wanted to," he replied, then grinned at Mario. "So... how did it go?"

What Sonic didn't expect was Mario to pull him into a bear hug, something that was so unexpected he nearly fell over. He felt his face go hot from the close contact, but was in no hurry to pull away. Unconsciously, he realized that it felt sort of... nice.

" _Grazie,_ " Mario whispered in Sonic's ear.

"Eh, don't mention it buddy. Though who you really should be thanking is Tails, he's the one who found the location."

"But you're the one who invited us here in the first place," Mario continued, breaking away from Sonic. "And you're the one who never gave up hope, even when I did."

"Well, if you look hard enough, you'll always find somethin', and nothin' ever starts until you take action."

"Good words to live by," Mario mused, smiling at Sonic. "You know, words aren't even enough to tell you how much this means to me. I'm happy Sonic, really happy. If there's anything I can do to repay you, just let me know." he suddenly brightened. "Maybe we could find out about your past, and restore your memories!"

"No."

Mario did a double-take at Sonic's blunt answer. "Why not?"

"Mario, I just..." Sonic sighed, running a hand through his quills as he pondered how to answer. "I don't know. Something just tells me that it's a bad idea, and even if we did manage to find something, I really don't want to give up the life I have now to go back to my old one, whatever that may be. Get it?"

Mario paused for a moment, then nodded, respecting Sonic's wishes. "Alright, but if there's ever anything else just let me know."

Sonic shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure," his attitude then took a complete turn, and he grinned wildly. "So, how was it like seein' your parents again?"

Mario grinned back, both of them sitting down on their beds. "Well, we ended up going out for dinner..."

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **lovemet123:** I actually cut a big part of that subplot simply because it was too dark. Not to worry though, Mario's going to be just fine, and a few people are aware of it (like Luigi, Sonic and a third character I won't say the name of just yet) and help him out when necessary.

 **Cool Guy III:** Awww, thank you so much! It's reviews like yours that keep me motivated and let me know that what I'm doing isn't totally pointless!  
Having Sonic have his voice crack is a headcanon I've always toyed with, as it also addresses his voice actor switch. And yeah, Sonic is getting better at playing the guitar, isn't he? I wonder what that could be leading into...  
Man, you guys are really worried about Mario! But like I said above, he's going to be just fine. He has a loving family and the greatest friends anyone could ask for. Plus his parents being back in his life is probably going to help out a lot. Him and Luigi really missed them. I know I haven't displayed much of the more cheerful side of his personality, but I'm working on it! (In fact, some of that cheerfulness and child-like behavior is displayed next chapter) And from personal experience, no, it's not easy to deal with...  
With Bowser's track record, I think Eggman is the only one he'd actually get along with. Anyone else probably would have requested a room change.  
I actually don't have any finals coming up, but thank you anyway! And I'll be sure to have a good day! Thanks for reading, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!


	18. Blanket Forts and Revelations

_~Chapter Eighteen: Blanket Forts and Revelations~_  


After what seemed like hours, Mario and Sonic finally turned in for the night, both of them wanting to get some rest. Mario had informed Sonic that his parents had gone back home, however, Luigi had found a Mii who went by the name of Nikki who was very skilled at sending letters between different universes and dimensions. Sure, it wasn't as effective as magical items that could produce a hologram of the person, but anything was sufficient for the Mario Brothers; as long as they got to stay in contact with their parents.

They'd also been informed that the next day was a break in Olympic activity, and they knew that several of their friends were taking the opportunity to stay up late. However, both Mario and Sonic were pretty tired from the day, and just wanted to sleep.

...If they _could_ get to sleep that was. Sonic shivered under his blankets, for some reason it was cold tonight, and no matter how tightly Sonic wrapped the covers around himself, he just couldn't get warm. Mario was suffering as well, and eventually Sonic sat up.

"Man, did the heating break or what?"

"I don't think so," came Mario's reply. He rolled over to face Sonic, wide awake. "It's just one of those nights."

"Ugh, it's so _cold_ here. Reminds me of Holoska," Sonic grumbled. "There has to be _some_ way to keep warm." He looked down at his bedsheets, before something clicked in his brain. He stood abruptly, and wandered around the room, eyes scanning over the furniture. He smirked as he pulled the chairs out from the desk and placed them strategically around the room, while Mario watched with a bewildered expression on his face.

"What are you -" he started, before realization set in and he sat up as well. "Are you making a blanket fort?"

"Sure am!" Sonic grinned, grabbing a handful of his sheets. "Wanna help?"

" _Sì_ , I love building blanket forts! Me and Luigi do this all the time!" he immediately got up and began helping Sonic with the sheets.

Sonic, while somewhat taken aback by Mario's enthusiasm, grinned at his friend. "Y'know, I think this is the first time you've ever been this excited about anythin' I've suggested."

"Well this is the first time you've suggested something that's actually fun."

"Oh, c'mon! We all know that sliding down the banister in the Smash Mansion would have been fun an' you know it!" Sonic held a corner of the sheet in his hands and frowned. "Okay, so we'll tie the ends of this to the chairs, and we'll need another sheet for the roof..."

As Sonic mumbled to himself, Mario pulled the sheets off of his own bed and began to arrange them on the chairs. The two continued to work in silence for several more minutes, tying sheets with string they found in the closet and carefully maneuvering around as they constructed it; one wrong move and the whole thing would come tumbling down. After around eleven minutes they'd finally finished building it and stood back to admire their work.

It was quite a big blanket fort, spanning half the room and furniture in it. Smirking, Sonic grabbed pillows and blankets and tossed them inside the fort, while Mario found a couple of flashlights. Crawling into the fort they discovered that it certainly was a lot warmer, and grabbing a pillow Sonic hugged it to his chest and glanced around, looking pleased.

"Perfect!" he exclaimed, switching on one of the flashlights. "Who says blanket forts can only be made by kids, huh?"

"I don't think anyone's said that," Mario pointed out. "Like I said before, me and Luigi do this all the time."

"Well lucky you. Last time I got Tails to make a blanket fort he was five, right before he stopped actin' like a kid," Sonic's ears drooped as he said that, a small frown on his face. "I blame myself sometimes y'know. Sometimes I wonder if it was my influence that made him grow up so quickly. 'Cause believe it or not, there were some times where he'd still act, y'know, his age."

Sonic went silent after that, and Mario reached over and patted Sonic's arm. "I don't think you should blame yourself for that. The kid's really smart, chances are he would have grown up too fast regardless."

"I know," Sonic continued. "But I can't help but feel guilty about it sometimes."

Silence fell yet again as the two sat in the blanket fort, building it had woken both of them back up and they needed to wait to be tired again to actually attempt falling asleep. A devilish smile crossed Sonic's face and he began to laugh, something that creeped out Mario more than it should have.

"Do I even want to know?" he hesitantly asked. Sonic's eyes flicked towards him.

"So... did you know that Pit has a crush on Samus?"

Mario sighed. "Seriously Sonic? Gossip?"

"Why not? Isn't that kind of the protocol for blanket forts?"

"It's immature!" Mario fought back. He folded in arms in mock annoyance, before glancing in Sonic's direction and continuing in a low voice, "But, uh, you can continue. I didn't know that one."

Sonic tutted and wagged his finger. "Oh no, I'm not continuin' after you mocked how immature and childish this whole thing is. Y'know, I'm feelin' kind of sleepy, I think I'm gonna turn in for the night."

With that Sonic lay down on his side and closed his eyes, waiting for Mario's response. He was expecting one of two things; for Mario to yell at him, or have a pillow thrown at him and _then_ be yelled at. However, Mario took an unforeseen third option, simply shrugging and saying, "Okay then."

Sonic opened his eyes, gawking at Mario who had lay down on his side too and was pretending to be in a deep slumber. He knew what Mario was up to, it was just a matter of who could act like they cared less about the conversation.

After a few moments of fidgeting, Sonic loudly sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. Geez, and you said that _I'm_ the immature one?"

Grinning smugly, Mario sat up and clutched a pillow to his chest, Sonic glaring at him in annoyance. "Y'know, we've been hangin' out too much. I think some of my attitude has been rubbing off on you."

Mario only shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

Rolling his eyes, Sonic gave Mario a bewildered look. "So, I'm really surprised you don't know that Pit has a thing for Samus. It's like, _the_ thing that everyone knows. Even Samus knows herself."

"Well, I'm the mansions doctor and leader. I don't really have the time to listen in on whatever gossip the mansion is spreading."

"Good thing you're friends with me then!" Sonic replied cheerfully, before lowering his voice. "Okay, so this is what I know..."

/~/

Sunlight filtered through the sheets and lit up the inside of the blanket fort, waking Sonic from his slumber. Yawning he groggily sat up and glanced around, his eyes resting on Mario across the fort wrapped up in a blanket and still snoozing. Smiling slightly, Sonic poked his head out of the sheets to read the time on the clock - 8:30.

...Eh, he didn't really want to get up yet. Retreating back into the fort he wrapped a blanket around himself and just sat there, his gaze falling onto Mario again. Even though the two had been friends for quite some time now, it was still a bit surreal to think about. If he'd told his younger self that one day he'd be staying up late at night gossiping with his rival in a blanket fort, he probably would have fell over laughing. That was how unbelievable it seemed.

Yet here he was the night after that exact situation. And Sonic wasn't sure why, but he felt really happy. It was like he was full of energy, and he couldn't stop smiling. If only those stupid butterflies in his stomach would go away, and if he was so happy why did he also feel really nervous at the same time too? And going off that train of thought, _why_ did it feel like his face was on fire?

...Wait...

Realization struck Sonic like Pikachu's Thunderbolt, and his eyes went wide as he slowly came to terms with what that meant.

 _'Nonono, I can't have feelings for Mario, I can't, he's my rival...'_

But it _was_ possible. Several memories played through Sonic's mind, Mario complimenting his guitar skills, their last day at the Smash Mansion, Mario suggesting they go get him a life jacket, Tails and Luigi teasing them, Sonic not giving up on finding Mario's parents...

He'd had these feelings for awhile, hadn't he? Taking a deep breath, Sonic attempted to calm himself down. He certainly wasn't expecting one of the first things that came to his mind this morning was the sudden revelation that he had a crush on his friend.

 _'This is so wrong...'_

The blanket fort suddenly felt suffocating, and Sonic realized he needed to get out of the room. He swiftly left in the blink of an eye, wandering outside and breaking into a sprint the moment his feet touched the snow. As he ran he contemplated on what he was going to do. Telling Mario was out of the question, not when they were getting along so good as friends. Sonic could almost imagine the awkwardness that would ensue afterwards, not something he wanted to share with his friendly rival. They already had enough awkward experiences between them, no need to add more to that list.

 _'Just act like nothin' changed between you two. Maybe your feelings will go away with time.'_

Sonic's pace began to slow into a light jog before he stopped entirely, folding his arms and clicking his tongue. So it was decided, he'd ignore his feelings and eventually they'd fade away into oblivion so that it would be a funny memory to look back on years from now.

He just hoped it would be that easy.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Guest:** The subplot would have had me dealing with an _extremely_ OOC Mario. It's bad enough I wrote him OOC in the deleted fic that shall not be named, I didn't need to do it here either.  
Sonic's poor performance skiing is just a jab at myself for being really terrible playing that particular event. However, he definitely does ace at snowboarding because of how similar it is to Extreme Gear and skateboarding.  
Perhaps I'll explore Sonic's past one day in the future. However, there is a very subtle hint somewhere in this story about the one thing he does remember from his past. If you've made it this far, you've already read it in fact! **  
**Thanks for the review, glad you like the story. :)

* * *

 **AN: For anyone who had Swapnote or currently has Swapdoodle, you should know who Nikki is. ;) Originally the Mario brothers were going to keep in contact with their parents thanks to an invention by Professor E. Gadd, but after Swapdoodle was released I realized Nikki was absolutely perfect for the part!  
**

 **Wow, is this really the last update of the year? Eighteen chapters in and still not close to the end yet (send help). But hey, not bad for something that spawned from a dumb headcanon and me daring myself to actually write about it. I will admit, spending so much time writing about this pairing has me sorta liking it a bit more than I initially did going into this. Though I still think I prefer writing/seeing them as close friends than lovers, or Sonic having a one-sided crush (a.k.a what the original headcanon was in the first place). But hey, it's always fun to experiment with rare pairings, and even though I don't ship this seriously, it's been really fun writing this so far!  
**

 **Speaking of this fanfic, it's currently sitting at over 3,000 views. That's... insane. All of your kind words helped rekindle my love and passion for writing, something that had been sorely missing in my life considering I used to write every day as a child and then I just... stopped. It feels great to be back in my element again, and yeah I'm a little rusty, but practice makes perfect after all! I have so many ideas, and I can't wait to get started on those as well! So a huge thank you to you guys, you all mean the world to me. :)  
**

 **~Steel**


	19. Time to Say Goodbye Again

**Spoilers: Mild for _Yoshi's Island_ and _Yoshi's New Island._**

* * *

 _~Chapter Nineteen: Time to Say Goodbye Again~_

The rest of the winter Olympics went by rather quickly and uneventfully. Soon enough it was time to pack up and leave again, and even though Sonic was itching to head back to his homeworld, another part of him really didn't want to say goodbye to Mario. He then swiftly shut that part of him up, because him and Mario were _friends_ and would always be _friends_ and maybe if he thought _friends_ enough it would get drilled into his mind.

"So you won more gold medals than me this time," Mario mused as they packed their bags. Sonic smirked as he tossed a sock into his bag.

"Sure did. But really, was there ever any doubt?"

"Your performance on the ski course said otherwise," Mario replied lightly, Sonic's quills bristling at the memory.

"I thought we all agreed we weren't gonna talk about that."

"Hm, maybe. But someone needs to keep your ego in check when it gets too over-inflated."

Sonic humphed, throwing a glove into his bag. While he was well-aware of his own arrogance, he hated having it pointed out to him. Mario seemed to know this as there was a hint of a smirk on the side of his face, but he meant no malice by it. Sonic wandered over to him and playfully shoved him. "Shut up!" he laughed, before going back to packing.

The two stayed in silence for a moment before Mario zipped up his last bag, glancing over at Sonic who surprisingly had finished packing as well. Noticing Mario's shocked look, Sonic placed a hand on his hip.

"What?"

"You actually finished packing on time," Mario mumbled incredulously. "It's like a Christmas miracle!"

"Again, shut up, except this time I mean it," Sonic responded flatly, picking up his bags and following Mario out the door, dropping their keys off at the office before stepping into the cold winter day. Mario noticed Sonic still looked a little agitated, and wondered if he went a little too far with his jests.

"You okay Sonic? You realize it's all good fun between us, right?"

Sonic smiled, closing his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I'm still a little shocked that someone can keep up with my sarcasm and dish it back out to me."

Mario only shrugged. "Well, you do set yourself up to be burned sometimes, and as we're still technically rivals it's only fair that we engage in snark-to-snark combat at any given moment."

Sonic snickered, gazing up at Mario in amusement. "I guess that is something that'll never change between us, huh?"

"Nope!" Mario replied with a grin.

Since the Olympics were over several Mii's were in Christmas Village taking down banners, several of them waving as the heroes wandered past. Waving back Mario and Sonic continued to where the teleporters were, snow swirling around them causing Sonic to frown a bit. Now, it's not like he didn't like snow, not by a long shot. It was the fact that it quickly melted into his fur he didn't like. He shivered as he felt his quills getting a bit damp, making a noise in protest.

"You really don't like water, do you?" Mario questioned as he took off his hat and placed it on Sonic's head. "Since you're apparently not going to do anything to keep yourself dry."

Sonic's heartbeat accelerated, before he quickly pushed the pesky feelings out of his mind. And while the hat didn't fit on his head comfortably, pinning his ears against his head, it did the job of keeping the snow off of him. "Thanks."

"As long as I get it back, your welcome." Mario responded. They continued walking in silence for a moment before a thought struck Sonic.

"So where exactly did your hat come from anyway? I've never seen you without it now that I'm thinkin' 'bout it."

Mario smiled fondly. "I've had it since birth," he explained. "Luigi's had his from birth as well. We don't really know where they came from, our parents have no clue either. They were just with us when the stork delivered us - when he got the right house, that is."

Sonic was about to respond, until the sentence ran through his head again. "Stork?" he questioned. "I thought that was just a myth."

Mario only shrugged. "I've learned it's easier if you just don't question things. But regardless, they seem to be good luck charms; our abilities seem strengthened when we wear them."

"Interesting," Sonic murmured. They fell into a bout of silence, their shoes crunching on the snow as they walked over it. The teleporters were in view, the rest of their teammates already there conversing with each other. As they approached snippets of conversations could be heard, such as, "I'll miss you so much!" and, "You may have won at curling, but I totally killed you in bobsleighing!"

...Typical Knuckles. Rolling his eyes Sonic followed Mario over to where Luigi and Tails were, the latter showing the former what looked like complicated blueprints for some sort of machine. Upon seeing their approach Tails shoved the blueprints back into his bag and gazed up at the hat atop Sonic's head.

"He was complaining about the snow melting into his fur." Mario clarified, Sonic pouting.

"You didn't need to tell them that..." he complained, while Tails snickered.

"Oh come on, Sonic. I know _much_ worse about you."

And that was enough to keep Sonic quiet, snapping his mouth shut while his face tinted red in embarrassment. Mario stifled a laugh, while Sonic glared at him.

"Okay guys, Mushroom Kingdom teleporter ready!" one of the Mii's yelled.

Sonic's face fell, and he reached up to remove Mario's hat, handing it back to it's rightful owner. "Thanks for lettin' me borrow it."

Placing his hat atop is head, Mario smiled. "Hey, anything to help out a friend," he held his hand out for Sonic to shake, and with no hesitation Sonic clasped his hand in Mario's.

"And _grazie_ ," Mario added. "Without you two we never would have been reunited with our parents again."

"It was nothin'," Sonic dismissed. He then did something very unexpected - he pulled Mario into a hug. Mario seemed a tad bit shocked at first before returning the gesture, pulling away a moment later. Peach - who had been silently watching the scene unfold - giggled before saying her goodbyes to Amy, who's mouth had dropped open as she stared wide-eyed at the two friendly rivals.

Since when was Sonic comfortable with hugs that weren't with Tails?

"Mushroom Kingdom teleporter ready!" the Mii called again, and with a final wave Team Mario began to file into the teleporter. Waving goodbye to Luigi, Tails glanced up at Sonic to see if he was waving goodbye to Mario, only to find his big brothers muzzle a light tint of red. And from the way Tails noticed he was trying to hide the fact he was staring at Mario, he easily put two and two together.

 _'I don't believe it...'_

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Cool Guy 4:** Yep, Sonic FINALLY realized he had feelings for Mario. And like anyone who's fallen for their friend, he's gonna be a little awkward about it. Because as I'm sure a few of us know, suddenly you're not exactly seeing that friend in the same light anymore, whether you wanted to or not.  
I love coming up with headcanons for Mario and Luigi and weird brotherly activities they could do together. Seriously, how can anyone say that Mario doesn't love his brother and vice versa? It literally makes no sense to me, considering there's quite a bit of canon evidence that says otherwise.  
You've been here since the beginning? Wow... thank you for the support! I hope you have a great 2017 as well! Stay awesome! :)

 **lovemet123:** I appreciate the support, but kindly leave my other reviewers out of it. :/


	20. Foggy Thoughts

**Spoilers: Major for _Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations,_ and mild _Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time. _And I guess if any of you actually care, the story mode in the 3DS version of _Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympics._ (The titles of those games just get longer with each installment, don't they?)  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty: Foggy Thoughts~_

With the success of Beijing and Vancouver, it really wasn't a shock to anyone when Mario and Sonic were informed that they'd been invited back to London for another round of Olympics fun. Honestly they were both looking forward to it, as life had gotten in the way of them being able to talk to each other. In fact, it had been forever since Sonic had had a conversation with any of his friends from the Smash Mansion, minus an incredibly short one he'd had with Samus. Naturally he worried about his friends, but he was sure they were fine. They weren't Smashers for nothing after all.

With their sights set on London Sonic and Tails packed their bags and set off, being informed that they were the last ones to arrive. However that may have been a blessing, as when they arrived they noticed an eerie rainbow coloured fog had spread throughout the whole of London, throwing the citizens into a frenzied panic.

"Why do I get the feelin' that the oversized turtle and Baldy McNosehair are behind this?" Sonic sighed. "C'mon, let's go try an' find Mario and Luigi."

"Aren't they right over there?" Tails questioned, pointing at a duo of figures heading in their direction. And while they did indeed resemble their friends... something was off about them. Sonic stared at the one resembling Mario, noticing how it had no visible eyes as it drew closer.

"It's not them," Sonic concluded, getting into a fighting stance. "They're imposters."

"I guess we only have one choice then." Tails replied, getting into a fighting stance of his own.

After fighting and defeating the imposters, they faded into the fog leaving Sonic and Tails confused as to what to do next. After what seemed like hours upon hours of walking in the fog, they finally came across the real Mario Brothers and Toad. Mario and Sonic immediately clasped hands upon seeing each other, while Tails, Luigi and Toad exchanged pleasantries.

"It's really good to see you guys, the REAL you," Sonic exclaimed, Mario doing a double take at Sonic's voice.

"So your voice finally cracked, did it?"

"Sure did," Sonic replied. "Shortly after Vancouver, actually."

"That's the least of our concerns," Tails interrupted. "We need to get to the bottom of what's causing this fog."

It turned out that the fog was known as the Phantasmal Fog, something so powerful it could clone and even choke it's victims. After a long journey the heroes made it to Bowser and Eggman's secret base inside Big Ben, where Mario and Sonic fought and defeated them, sealing the fog back into the bottle it came from.

As it turned out, the only reason they'd launched the attack was because they thought they hadn't been invited, despite Peach and Amy saying they received their invitations.

Oh well. At least the Opening Ceremonies could start now with no more interruptions.

"Man, why do I get the feelin' that they're always gonna try an' ruin the Olympics?" Sonic groaned when him and Mario had returned to their room. Mario clicked his tongue, thinking of an answer.

"Because they're our sworn enemies and without them we'd probably live really boring lives?"

Sonic laughed as he set his guitar case down next to his bed. "Yeah, you're right about that one," he opened the case and took out his guitar, cradling it in his hands. Mario noticed that Sonic had decorated the case with various photos and stickers, and with curiosity he kneeled next to it.

"May I see what you've decorated the case with?"

"Hm? Oh, sure." Sonic waved a hand dismissively as Mario's eyes flicked over the various mementos. He lightly chuckled as he spied a picture of Sonic standing between Pit and Red, obviously taken sometime during Brawl. It was the sticker next to it that caught Mario's attention though - a sticker advertising 'Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park'.

"What's this?" Mario questioned, pointing to the sticker. Sonic snickered, running a hand through his quills.

"Well, after the failure of Eggmanland which I was totally responsible for, good ol' Baldy McNosehair decided to build an amusement park up in space. Sure, it seemed harmless at first, but he was powering it using a race of aliens known as 'Wisps'. So naturally I couldn't let that happen, an' I took him down like I always do. However... there was the issue with the black hole; it almost got me too if the aliens hadn't saved me."

"So why do you have a sticker of it on your case?" Mario questioned, while Sonic shrugged.

"It was free," he responded simply.

"Was that the only thing that happened recently?" Mario asked, curious about his friends life.

"Nope, because on my seventeenth birthday this creature known as the Time Eater crashed my party, kidnapped my friends an' stuck 'em all in a strange white limbo. Pretty freaky, but the weirdest part was that I met my younger self, an' we teamed up to take down Eggman an' _his_ younger self."

"That sounds like what happened in the Mushroom Kingdom when the Shroob invasion happened," Mario pointed out. "Me and Luigi teamed up with our baby selves during that adventure."

"Huh," Sonic commented. "Man, we really _do_ have some similar adventures, don't we?"

"Strange, isn't it?" Mario watched as Sonic plugged the guitar into it's amp. "Have you been practicing recently?"

"Sure have!" Sonic exclaimed, a bright smile on his face as he tuned the strings. "An' with my voice having finally cracked, my singing doesn't sound totally stupid anymore!"

Mario stifled a laugh as he remembered how back in Vancouver Sonic's singing voice was less than desirable. Sonic shot Mario a glare as he tuned the final string.

"I heard that," Sonic warned as he made himself comfortable on his bed, giving the strings an experimental strum before beginning to play an actual song.

Mario's eyebrows raised as Sonic played, he'd definitely improved since Vancouver, and his singing voice wasn't that bad either. Mario found himself lost in the song, and was slightly disappointed when it ended.

"That's fantastic, Sonic! I bet that in some alternate universe you must have been a famous musician!"

Well that did it. Sonic felt his face go hot and he immediately looked away, playing with the pick in his hands. And after he'd been doing so well at keeping his crush at bay, Mario just had to go and say something like that. Damn his kindness. "Thanks Mar..."

Mario was about to respond, before an odd look crossed his face. "'Mar'?" he questioned.

Sonic's eyes went wide at his accidental slip of the tongue. "Oh, uh... just a nickname I came up with," he explained. "I could call you somethin' else if you'd like."

"No, if you want to call me 'Mar' I won't object to it," Mario clarified. He then caught sight of the clock, doing a double-take at the time. "It's already nine-thirty?" he murmured in disbelief.

"Well, it has been a pretty long day," Sonic pointed out. "Guess we should probably get some sleep then." he unplugged his guitar from it's amp and opened it's case, while Mario went to go get changed.

As soon as the bathroom door shut Sonic let out a heavy sigh, biting his lower lip and wanting to strangle the author for how out of character he was acting. He didn't need to though, the author was already beating herself up enough for it.

 _'I gotta be more careful,'_ he thought as he snapped the guitar case shut. ' _Otherwise these feelings aren't gonna go away an' he's gonna find out, an' that's the last thing I want to happen.'_

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Megaheracross2.1:** Thank you! If that's the case, then I guess I must be doing something right, haha!

 **Inuyasha572:** Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

 **lovemet123:** Honestly? Tails doesn't really care who Sonic does or doesn't have a crush on. It doesn't really concern him, so he has no reason to really give it much more thought.  
I can confirm that no main characters are dying in this story, I'm not that evil. I'll save that for Halloween. The snow blowing wasn't actually symbolic of anything, it was just windy and the snow was blowing around.  
I don't imagine the villains really caring who has a crush on who. Considering their goals are to defeat Sonic and Mario with their friends, they really aren't in any more danger than they would have been beforehand.


	21. Like a Coffee Shop AU

_~Chapter Twenty-One: Like a Coffee Shop AU~_

"Come on Sonic, it's not that far away."

The response Mario got was an over-exaggerated groan, causing the plumber to lightly chuckle. Somehow the coffee machine had broken in the hotel, with the Mii's informing the teams that it probably wouldn't be fixed until after the Olympics were over. Naturally this caused a bit of an uproar, until Silver had said he'd located a coffee shop not too far away. And while Sonic had been positive the night before, as Mario quickly found out a decaffeinated Sonic was an _extremely_ grumpy and lazy one. Which was how they got into this situation, Mario standing outside the bathroom door with his arms folded and Sonic taking forever as usual on the other side.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened, Sonic lethargically shuffling out and glaring at Mario with tired eyed. "Let's go then," he sighed, Mario raising an eyebrow as they exited the room, locking the door behind them. Together they made their way outside into the foggy morning, the cool air helping to perk Sonic up the tiniest bit. After a few moments of silence, Sonic chuckled.

"Y'know, since we're in London maybe we should try an' speak with British accents!"

"You could try, but I don't think I'd be able to pull one off," Mario replied, shoving his hands in his overalls pockets. Sonic frowned at the response.

"Oh, c'mon! If the author can pull one off I'm sure you could!"

Mario stopped walking, a wrinkle of confusion on his brow. "Author?" he questioned.

Sonic ceased walking as well, suddenly aware of what he'd just said. "Oh, uh... nothin'. It's nothin', don't worry 'bout it."

Mario quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing more as they continued their way down the street. The coffee shop was in view by this point, upon seeing it they picked up the pace, a few pigeons scattering as they wandered by. Mario held the door open for Sonic, then stepped inside himself.

The scent of freshly ground coffee hit both of them like a punch to the face as soon as they entered. Taking their place at the back of the line, Sonic tapped his foot impatiently.

"I hate line-ups. Too slow." he muttered, Mario chuckling and shaking his head slowly. Eventually they made their way to the front of the line to order their drinks, and as Sonic went to pay for his Mario stopped him.

"No, I got it," he stated, Sonic gazing at him with a slight frown.

"You sure? 'Cause I can totally pay for my own..."

"No, no, it's fine. Besides, you're my friend and I like doing nice things for my friends."

Sonic quickly averted his gaze, silently cursing himself for his feelings yet again. "Thanks Mar..." he mumbled.

"Don't mention it," Mario didn't know what the big deal was though, it was just a cup of coffee. It made him wonder if Sonic had never been a reciprocant of a random act of kindness before. He shrugged it off as Sonic being typical Sonic though, casually glancing around the café. It wasn't particularly busy thanks to it being early morning but a few customers loitered, some of them seemingly recognizing both Mario and Sonic as they stared for just a little too long. To some it may have seemed a little uncomfortable, but the two heroes were used to it at this point thanks to the unwanted attention they received back in their homeworlds.

"Order 11!" the Mii behind the counter shouted, Mario and Sonic wandering over to grab their drinks. Since the coffee was in a to-go cup Sonic was expecting to just head back to the hotel, until Mario spoke up.

"You know, let's just stay here."

"You sure?" Sonic asked, Mario nodding.

"Yeah, we don't need to be back at the stadium for awhile," he pointed to a table near the window. "How about there?"

"Sure..." Sonic stuttered as him and Mario sat down at the table, Sonic focusing on the cup in front of him and trying to ignore the thumping of his heart. He didn't like how Mario had that sort of an impact on him. He _shouldn't_ be having that sort of an impact on him.

 _'Ugh, sign number 1,991 that I've been dropped into a bad fanfiction... I would never act like this in canon!'_ _  
_

"Sonic?" Mario's voice cut through Sonic's thoughts, the hedgehog snapping his head up and his eyes meeting Mario's who was staring at him with one eyebrow raised. "You're making some strange faces, and while it's amusing it wouldn't be right to not ask if you were alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinkin', that's all." Sonic took a sip of coffee and stared out the window, watching the fog swirl around in the serene morning. It was nice to see that everything was so peaceful in London again.

"Um, excuse me... but you're Mario and Sonic, right?"

The heroes in question looked to the edge of the table where a teenaged Mii stood, tugging nervously at his hoodie strings. Sonic gave a friendly smile.

"Yep, that's us!"

"Oh, w-wow... I'm such big fans of you both. I've watched every single event, you two are my idols!"

"Thank you for the support," Mario grinned. The Mii turned away, clearly starstruck.

"You're welcome... and thank you for saving us from the Phantasmal Fog."

Before Mario or Sonic could respond the Mii had bolted, Sonic raising an eyeridge.

"Well that was... interesting." he commented.

"We never got his name." Mario realized, Sonic shrugging in response.

"Eh, it's probably fine. Who knows, we might see him again someday!"

Mario didn't think so. The odds of seeing that particular Mii again were incredibly slim, but then again stranger things had happened. He sipped at his coffee while Sonic resumed staring out the window. Mario frowned, Sonic seemed much more distracted recently. Mind you, Sonic had a tendency to be a bit scatterbrained when it came to things that he didn't deem important, but something about it just seemed... different.

"Coin for your thoughts?" he tried, Sonic turning to face Mario.

"Hm? Oh, it's nothin'." he waved a hand in the air dismissively, causing Mario to give him a playful look.

"You were thinking about nothing?"

"That's not what I meant an' you know it!" Sonic snapped, Mario grinning for at least getting some sort of response out of him. Scowling, Sonic downed the rest of his coffee and stood. "C'mon smart-alack, let's get back to the stadium."

Mario rolled his eyes before following suit and heading out the door with Sonic. Since it was a bit later in the morning there were a few more pedestrians around, and most of the fog had dissipated away.

As they continued their way back to the stadium, Mario kept a watchful eye on Sonic who still looked like something was troubling him as he weaved his way through the crowd. Without even thinking about it Mario slung an arm around Sonic's shoulder, causing the hedgehog to jump slightly at the unexpected contact.

"I don't know what's bothering you," Mario started. "But if you ever need help with it, just let me know. After all, I still owe you a favor."

Sonic just gave an uncomfortable smile and looked down to the pavement below, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

 _'I wish I could tell you what's on my mind, Mar. I really do. But even you would find it strange that I fell for you.'_

* * *

 ** _Replies_  
**

 **pichuplayer:** Thank you! I always try and make the chapter titles be a mix of funny and plot relevant, so if I made you laugh then I guess I'm doing even more things right haha!

 **CatbyShynie. EXE:** Haha, well thank you! And for future reference, I update every Wednesday! :)


	22. Nightmare

**AN: Just thought I'd put a mild blood warning here in case any of you are squeamish.  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty-Two: Nightmare~_

"I can't believe it's already time to say goodbye again!"

Mario remained quiet, silently packing his things into his bags. Sonic quirked an eyeridge, confused by his behavior but shrugging it of as nothing. "So we're still gonna keep in touch, right?"

Mario made a low humming noise. Frowning, Sonic dropped Samus' missile capsule into his bag - wouldn't want to lose it now - and wandered over to him. "Are you okay?"

Sighing, Mario's eyes trailed to the ceiling, expression unreadable. "Honestly? No, no I'm not okay. Want to know why?"

Sonic didn't like where this conversation was going. "Why?" he asked hesitantly.

Mario let a puff out air out of his nostrils, a haughty laugh. "As if you don't know," he muttered. "Look, I'm not stupid, and I easily figured out that you have a crush on me."

Sonic's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped, he could have sworn his heart stopped beating for a minute. This wasn't supposed to happen, _he wasn't supposed to find out._ This raised the question as to how he'd figured it out in the first place, since Sonic had taken extra care to not do anything that may raise a red flag or two. _  
_

"A-And?" Sonic stuttered. "Like, how do you feel?"

"Honestly Sonic? I don't feel the same. I mean, look at us. Not only are we rivals, we're two completely different species _and_ to top it all off there's a pretty noticeable age gap between us. Don't you think any of those things would be slightly problematic?"

Sonic didn't know what he was supposed to say, he was stunned into silence. Overcome with emotion he could do nothing but sink to the floor, dejected. Sure, he hadn't ever expected Mario to return his feelings, but why was he being so... _nasty_ about it?

Mario didn't seem to care about Sonic's hurt feelings as he tossed the golden ring Sonic had given him back towards it's original owner; it landed a few inches away from Sonic's shoe with an exaggerated _'ping'._

"I don't think we should be friends anymore," Mario stated in the coldest, flattest tone Sonic had ever heard come out of him. Sonic's mouth ran dry and he froze, reject his feelings sure, but end their friendship? Wasn't that a little too harsh? He didn't want to lose their friendship!

"Wait, can't we talk this over? Please, I still wanna be friends!"

Mario picked up his bags, giving Sonic one last frosty glare before wandering out the door, leaving Sonic crumpled on the ground feeling like his heart had just been ripped from his chest _._ What Sonic failed to realize was that his heart really _had_ been ripped from his chest, leaving a gaping hole where it should have been; rivulets of blood trickling from the wound while the colours around him became distorted. He could vaguely see the vital organ still beating on the ground in front of him; _thump, thump, thump._ _  
_

"Mar..." he croaked as the world around him fell silent and his eyes closed for the final time.

/~/

"Sonic, wake up!"

Startled, Sonic jolted awake; his panicked, frenzied eyes meeting Mario's concerned ones. Confused, Sonic glanced around, hadn't he been dying a moment ago?

"You're awake," Mario breathed, letting out a sigh of relief. "You must have been having a nightmare, you were thrashing in your sleep."

"Nightmare?" Sonic mumbled, still feeling a bit disoriented.

"Are you okay? Do you need to talk about it?" Mario's tone was concerned, a far cry from what it had been in Sonic's nightmare. Blinking, Sonic shook his head.

"Nah, I-I think I'm fine," He gave an uncomfortable smile and tossed his covers aside, shuffling into the bathroom. Mario frowned as soon as the door clicked shut. He knew that was a lie, as he'd seen the panic etched on Sonic's face and heard his own name mumbled multiple times during the night.

/~/

Silence.

Sonic tossed another stray sock into his bag while Mario watched, perplexed. It was well into the day and Sonic had barely spoken to him. He seemed deep in thought, and kept sighing as if something was wrong. Mario wondered if his strange behavior was a result of the nightmare Sonic had had.

Meanwhile Sonic was feeling all sorts of messed up. His nightmare still haunted him, the words dream Mario had said ringing in his ears. And though he hated to admit it, his nightmare was right in some ways. There were so many things about them that were incompatible... he felt stupid for having this dumb crush. He wondered if maybe there was something wrong with him.

Sonic's ears drooped, and Mario decided that he'd had enough of this attitude. Marching over to Sonic, Mario placed both hands on the hedgehog's shoulders, looking him straight in the eye.

"Look, I may have left out a small detail this morning. I heard you mumbling my name in the night, so I know I had to be a factor in your nightmare somehow."

Sonic blinked at the new information, eyes trailing to the ground below. "Dream you said some things that... kinda hurt me."

And the 'Understatement of the Year' award goes to...

"Sonic," Mario stated gently, pulling him into a hug. "Dream me is a jerk then. I'd never want to hurt you. You should know me well enough to know that that's not the kind of person I am."

"Even if I said somethin' that could potentially ruin our friendship?" Sonic asked.

"Have you not heard the way we snipe at each other?" Mario questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Because quite honestly, if something was going to end our friendship it probably would have happened by now!"

Sonic said nothing at first, processing Mario's words. A small smile crossed his face, and even though he was still a bit disturbed by his nightmare, he felt a bit better about his strange crush. Maybe enough to even finally accept it. "Thanks Mar... I think I needed to hear that."

"I know you needed to hear that," Mario stated matter-of-factly. "Now, we really need to continue packing, we don't want to miss going home."

"Roger that!" Sonic gave a two-fingered salute, before continuing on with his packing, a bright smile now plastered on his face.

Mario let out a short laugh and shook his head at Sonic's abrupt attitude change. It seemed whatever was bothering Sonic had vanished the moment he'd hugged him.

He wondered why that was.

/~/

"Okay, Mushroom Kingdom teleporters ready!"

Mario turned to Sonic, who had a hand on his hip smirking at his friendly rival. "I guess it's time to say goodbye again."

"Yeah," Sonic sighed. "But knowin' our luck we'll see each other again real soon!"

The two clasped hands before breaking away, Mario turning back and giving one last wave before he entered the teleporter. Unlike previous times however, Sonic averted his eyes as they were teleported back to the Mushroom Kingdom, something that was noticed by a few more of Sonic's friends this time around. While a few of them suspected something they never said it, opting to stay silent as they were led into the teleporter next, being whisked away to their home planet and normal lives for the time being.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Mrs. Needlemouse:** Haha, thanks! Glad I could make you laugh with Sonic's self-awareness. And I'll admit, writing a flustered Sonic is kinda fun, considering it's a bit different from his normal personality. You just gotta make sure you don't go too far with it, otherwise he doesn't feel like Sonic anymore. Hopefully I struck an equal balance!

 **Megaheracross2.1:** To answer your first question, I can confirm that Mario will not be making any sort of appearance for the events of that game. However, I _had_ been toying with the idea of writing a couple of oneshots about Sonic in the Yoshi and Zelda DLC zones. And as for your second question... he will eventually. Not right now as he currently sees Sonic as a close friend and nothing more, but he will eventually. Thanks for the reviews! **  
**

 **TheGameNguyener:** Thank you so much! In my personal opinion their friendship is the most important aspect of this story, so I'm glad you think I did a good job portraying it! I'll admit that I have _way_ too much fun writing them together. And you're very welcome! :)


	23. Start of the Fourth Tournament

**Spoilers: Major spoilers for _Kid Icarus: Uprising_ , and minor for _Sonic Lost World_ and _Fire Emblem: Awakening_  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty-Three: Start of the Fourth Tournament~_

Sonic wasn't used to getting much mail. So when he found not one, but two letters addressed to him in the mailbox he was naturally a little curious and quickly opened the first one, scanning it's contents. A small laugh escaped his lips as he read - of course him and Mario had been invited back to Doppel for the Olympics. Why wouldn't they be? Thankfully it was still a little ways away, so he at least had some time to prepare. Setting the letter down he grabbed the second envelope and turned it in his hands; his heart nearly stopping as he noticed the familiar insignia on the bottom left corner.

 _'No way...'_

Wasting no time Sonic tore into the letter, and with shaking hands brought the paper closer to his face, eyes dancing over his invitation to the fourth Super Smash Brothers tournament. They wanted him back... they really wanted him back! Included was a response card with the simple answers of 'Yes' and 'No', and Sonic was about to fill it out when Tails burst through the doors of the workshop, panic etched on his face.

"Tails? What's wrong buddy?" Sonic asked, setting the letter down. Tails, while somewhat out of breath, pointed behind him frantically.

"Eggman... he's kidnapped several capsules of animals!"

Sonic's face twisted into a scowl. "So he's back to usin' his old tricks, huh? Well, I guess there's only one thing we can do!"

"I'll get the Tornado ready so we can take chase!" With that Tails raced out the door while Sonic followed, the invitations left on the table seemingly forgotten about at the moment.

/~/

Mario was concerned. It had been quite some time since Sonic's invitation had been sent out, but there had been no response from him. Strangely enough he couldn't get into contact with him either, and it wasn't just Mario running into this problem. Pit and Samus had both tried as well with similar results. Mario could feel the familiar hint of anxiety flare in his stomach as his mind went rampant with dark thoughts; he shook his head to clear them away. Thankfully being back at the Smash Mansion had it's perks, as he found himself constantly busy with something to do getting ready for the new tournament to start.

Mario was watching Samus tinker with her Varia Suit in order to keep it from overheating and disintegrating during her Final Smash when Master Hand called him to his office. Frowning Mario made his way through the halls and up two flights of stairs to the third floor where the Hand's offices were located, all the while wondering why Master Hand wanted to see him.

"Master Hand?" Mario questioned, knocking on the large oak door. "You wanted to see me?"

"Ah, Mario. Please come in, the door is unlocked."

Mario pulled open the door and stepped into Master Hand's office, looking the same as ever with it's large bookshelves filled to the brim with encyclopedias about each fighter and their homeworlds and tall vaulted ceiling. In front of the large oak desk "sat" the titular hand himself, and he gestured towards one of the crushed velvet seats.

"Please, make yourself comfortable."

Mario obliged, sinking into one of the chairs. "What's this about, Master Hand? Is this about the newcomers, because I thought that you said you weren't letting me know who was being invited this time around."

"No, no, it is not anything like that, Mario. I have just called you here to let you know that I finally received a response from Sonic, he should be arriving in a few days. I knew you were worried about him."

Relief swept through Mario. " _Grazie,_ Master Hand."

"Do not expect me to do this again however," Master Hand stated sternly. "Leader of the Smashers or not, I can not go bending the rules for you all the time."

"Oh, I know," Mario quickly responded. "But I still thank you for letting me know anyway."

Master Hand quietly chuckled. "It is astounding how much your bond has grown over the years. I am quite proud of the both of you," he bobbed his fingers. "That will be all, you are dismissed."

Mario stood and exited the office, closing the door behind him. He smiled as he made his way back down to the first floor, at least he knew Sonic was okay now. That was the biggest relief ever, and at least now he could stop worrying.

Best not to tell anyone else though. Master Hand had made it explicitly clear that he wasn't happy bending the rules. Best to not get in even more trouble.

Mario made his way back into the living room, where Samus had enlisted the help of one of the newcomers - Shulk - in helping with her Varia suit issue. He smiled lightly, glad that some of the newcomers were already fitting in, before deciding to leave them be and head back to his room.

All he could do now was wait.

/~/

Well this was a familiar situation. Sonic sighed as he stared out the window of the bus, leg bouncing up and down and his eye slightly twitching as he watched the landscape blur outside. He _really_ wanted to be out there, he wanted to run to the Smash Mansion, but he knew by this point that it was against the rules. Mind you he still thought it was a pretty stupid rule, but he sucked it up and took the very slow transportation method. Good first impressions and all that, especially since there were probably some newcomers this time around.

Tugging on the end of one of his quills, Sonic frowned. He knew he was late showing up to the tournament once again, but he really couldn't help the fact that Eggman had decided to launch a surprise attack. He hoped no one would be mad at him, he already had enough of his friends mad at him back in his own homeworld thanks to the boneheaded stunt he'd pulled on his last adventure. He shuddered, blocking that out of his memory for now. Best not to worry about that, right now he just wanted to see some of his old friends.

"Aye, we be 'ere laddie," Kapp'n announced, stopping the bus at the end of the familiar brick path. Grinning, Sonic stood and stretched, the thought of not being confined to such a small space enough to plaster a smile on his face. Grabbing his bags and guitar case he stepped off the bus and smiled at his surroundings. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last tournament, and closing his eyes Sonic took a deep breath of fresh air -

\- before something slammed into him full-force, causing him to stumble and drop his bags; thankfully, he managed to keep ahold of the guitar case. Wouldn't want _that_ to fall now.

"Pit!" Sonic scolded, Pit immediately leaping back upon realizing he'd done something wrong. "Next time warn me when you're about to glomp me!"

"Sorry..." Pit mumbled sheepishly, bouncing on his heels slightly. "But I missed you so much! It's been forever since we've talked, there's so much I need to tell you!"

"Well, go on." Sonic chuckled, picking up his bags as him and Pit began to head towards the mansion.

"Well, remember when I contacted you and Mario way back when and I said something along the lines of jinxing the peacefulness? Well, the Underworld Army invaded Skyworld, and at first me and Lady Palutena thought it was Medusa. But it turns out that the real boss of the game was Hades, Lord of the Underworld! Not only that, but I was turned into a ring for three years thanks to the Chaos Kin, which also had Lady Palutena under mind control. Thankfully I managed to defeat it and take down Hades as well. I also have a twin brother now!"

Sonic folded his arms, impressed. Even though half of what Pit was saying didn't make much sense to him, it was clear that Pit had been busy since their days in Brawl. It wasn't until he heard the words 'twin brother' did he quirk an eyeridge, and he put his hands out in front of him. "Whoa, whoa, hold on. How didja gain a twin brother all of a sudden?"

"Oh that's easy! You see, I was cloned using the Mirror of Truth in Pandora's Labyrinth, because the Underworld Army wanted an angel of their own. But I kinda broke the mirror before he was complete, so he ended up being neutral instead," Pit giggled, before looking over Sonic's shoulder at something. "Oh! There he is now! HEY PITTOO! COME OVER HERE AND SAY HI!"

Sonic was forced to cover his ears as he turned towards the dark angel that was currently glaring daggers at the both of them.

"I told you to quit calling me that!" he snarled, marching over to Pit and harshly poking him in the chest. Sonic looked between the two angels, a strong sense of déjà vu coming over him as he recalled the first time he met Shadow. He was about to comment on it, but his words died on his tongue as a beautiful woman with long green hair had suddenly appeared next to the angels, pulling them apart and giving both of them stern looks.

"What did I tell you two about fighting?" she demanded, and Sonic decided that it was a good moment to leave. As he ascended the steps to the mansion, he heard Pit whimper, "Sorry Lady Palutena." while Pittoo just huffed. Chuckling, Sonic took a deep breath and opened the doors of the mansion.

"'Kay, priority number one - go see Master Hand so I can fill out my paperwork an' get the key to my room," Sonic mumbled to himself as he ascended the stairs to the second floor, noticing quite a few new faces as he made his way through the halls. "Priority number two, get settled into my room, an' finally priority number three, make my presence known to the mansion. Perfect."

Making his way to the third floor Sonic headed down the hall and to the left towards the Hands' offices, stopping in front of the large oak door. Taking a deep breath Sonic knocked three times, before he heard Master Hands voice from inside.

"Please come on in, the door is unlocked."

Obliging, Sonic pulled the door open and stepped into Master Hands office, the large hand seemingly knowing that Sonic would be arriving as he already had the necessary paperwork ready to go.

"Welcome back, Sonic. I trust you have been well?"

"Yeah, I've been good..." Sonic replied nonchalantly, clicking the pen and quickly scanning over the documents, signing his name whenever he needed to. "Glad to be back here."

"We're glad to have you back as well, Sonic," Master Hand reached into one of his drawers and produced a key, handing it off to Sonic. "You are in room 23 like before, and I've opened up the training room so that you can all hone your abilities before the tournament begins proper. I'm also aware that you and Mario will be heading back to Doppel within a few days time to compete in the Olympics once again. Fear not, as we're still waiting on a few fighters. In the meantime, feel free to get settled into your room and relax with your brethren."

"Thanks!" Sonic stood, exiting the room. Grabbing his bags he began to head down to the dormitories when he spied a familiar figure waiting for him near the stairwell. Rolling his eyes, Sonic eyed Mario with false annoyance. "You _do_ realize that you're not my next priority, right Mar?"

"Nice to see you too, Sonic," Mario replied dryly, heading down the stairs with his friend. "Pit told me that you were here, so I thought I'd wait for you. After all... I wasn't able to contact you for quite some time."

Sonic froze, not realizing that some of his friends had been trying to get into contact with him while he was on his latest adventure. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Yeah... some things happened, I guess communication got cut off between dimensions." _That's one way of putting it..._

"Guess so..." Mario trailed off, not questioning Sonic further. "Anyway, I take it you're heading to your room?"

"Yeah, an' then I was gonna announce my presence to the mansion," Sonic chuckled as Mario grinned.

"Perfect, I want to introduce you to someone. He should be in his room as well."

Sonic cocked his head curiously, wondering who the new mystery Smasher was. Mario was staying silent on the issue however, so Sonic just shrugged to himself as they made their way through the halls and out the back door to the dorms. Heading down the hallway Sonic searched for his room, stopping when he reached room 23.

"Hang on, just lemme put my stuff in my room first."

"Of course."

Unlocking the door Sonic stepped inside, tossing his bags down on the floor. The room looked exactly the same way he'd left it - perfect. Smiling, Sonic exited the room and quickly glanced at who was next to him. His neighbor to the left hadn't changed, which was fine, Meta Knight didn't make much noise in the first place. His neighbor to the right however had him a bit curious, apparently it was someone named 'Robin'.

"Who's Robin?" Sonic asked as him and Mario continued down the hall.

"Robin is an interesting case," Mario began. "There are actually two of them in the mansion, one male and one female. They've lived the exact same life as the other, the only difference being their gender. It's quite interesting as they're living proof that the amount of alternate universes out there is staggering. For example, there may be a universe where everything is made of paper."

"Or a universe where everythin' is made out of multicoloured blocks that you hafta assemble! Or maybe a universe where everyone wears sports tape 'cause let's be real, it does look really cool," Sonic added. "In fact, this entire scenario could be considered an alternate universe, since we're figments of the authors imagination based on her favourite video game characters!"

Mario stopped walking, a wrinkle of confusion on his brow. "...What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right, you... still don't know about that," Sonic muttered to himself. "Anyway, cool things about alternate universes! I can't wait to meet them if that's the case!"

Mario smirked, glancing over at Sonic before his eyes rested on something he hadn't noticed until now. "So what's with the earring?" he asked casually as Sonic reached up to touch the red hoop in his left ear.

"Oh, this? I got it for my eighteenth birthday. I've had it awhile now. Thought it would make me look cooler, y'know?"

"Sure," Mario replied flatly, Sonic glaring at him in annoyance.

"What? Link has one an' no one complains about that!"

"That is true," Mario mused, both of them lapsing into silence once again. It wasn't until they reached a door at the end of the hallway did Sonic break the silence, reading the nameplate as his eyes widened.

"No way..."

"I was surprised as well," Mario admitted, knocking on the door. "But I'm glad he's here in the mansion all the same."

The door opened a moment later, the newcomers eyes flashing for a brief moment before he smiled. "Oh, hey Mario! I didn't know you'd be showing up today," his gaze fell onto Sonic, his grin widening as he held out his hand. "And you must be Sonic, I've heard so much about you!"

Sonic shook the metallic hand of the robot in front of him. "It's nice to meetcha too, Mega Man. I've heard a lot about you as well, I can't believe you're actually here!"

"Aw, geez," Mega Man stammered, and Sonic was positive that if he wasn't a robot he'd be blushing. "Am I really that big of a deal?"

"Well, yeah!" Sonic exclaimed, excitedly grabbing ahold of his hand. "How long have ya been in the mansion?"

"A few days..." Mega Man replied, eyeing Sonic cautiously. "Why?"

"Well I'm sure there's things ya haven't seen yet, so let's go on a little tour!" Sonic locked eyes with Mario. "Got anythin' to do today, Mar?"

Mario knew where Sonic was going with this, and he sighed and shook his head, looking slightly amused. "No, no I don't."

"Perfect! So you'll help out, right?"

"Considering you're leaving me no real choice, yes."

Sonic looked annoyed for a moment, before widely grinning again and wandering down the hall, yammering away to Mega Man about the things he needed to know about the mansion, like how to sneak away from the table when Crazy Hand made his meatloaf surprise and where the best places to relax were. Mario just shook his head with a chuckle, momentarily wondering if introducing Sonic and Mega Man was a bad idea before heading off down the hallway after them.

* * *

 ** _Replies_  
**

 **TheGameNguyener:** Yeah, Mario would never be hostile or cruel towards any of his friends, despite what half of the Internet would say. He's concerned, because he knows Sonic is hiding something and he doesn't know what it is, and Sonic is conflicted because on one hand he wants to keep Mario as a friend, and on the other hand he wants something more. It's a complicated situation for him. Thanks for the review!

 **Megaheracross2.1:** Hmmm... interesting theory. I guess we'll just have to see! Thanks for the review!


	24. High Tensions

**Spoilers: I'm spoiling the entire plot of _Sonic Lost World._ Just sayin'. Also, Mario  & Sonic Sochi 2014 had no handheld counterpart, therefore had no story mode. So... have some drama instead! Don't worry, we'll be back in the Smash Mansion after next chapter.  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty-Four: High Tensions~_

The next few days went by rather quickly, and soon enough it was time for quite a few of the Smashers to leave for Doppel once again. Master Hand waited by the bus for them as the wandered out of the mansion, most of them temporarily saying goodbye to their friends.

"When you return the rest of the competitors should be here, so be prepared for the tournament as soon as you get back," Master Hand informed them.

"Aye aye, captain," Sonic murmured sarcastically to Mario, who in turn coughed to cover up his laughter. Saying their goodbyes to Mega Man they boarded the bus, a few moments later the doors shutting and Kapp'n whisking them off to the teleporters.

Sonic hummed to himself as he stared out the window, heartbeat accelerating as he anticipated seeing his friends. Even though Tails, Knuckles and Amy were fine with him... the rest were probably still a little pissed at him for what he'd nearly managed to do. He only hoped that they'd save him the embarrassment and not yell at him in front of Mario. Sonic still hadn't told him all of what his last adventure consisted of, and he wanted it to stay that way.

Mario could sense Sonic's anxiousness though, he was pretty sure everyone could. His body language clearly stated that something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what exactly.

He got his answer soon enough when they were safe on Doppel and in the Olympic Village, the rest of their teams waiting there. Something about Sonic's team was off though, they didn't smile as they saw their captain approaching, some of them didn't even look in his direction. Eventually it was Shadow who broke the silence.

"You IDIOT!" he snarled, looking ready to Chaos Spear Sonic right in the heart; he probably would have too if Blaze and Silver hadn't held him back. "Did you even THINK? Or is thinking something you're incapable of doing?"

"Hey, lay off him Shadow!" Amy stepped forward, eyes blazing. "He said he was sorry, multiple times!"

"That doesn't change the fact he nearly destroyed the entire world!" Shadow snapped, as an eerie silence fell across the group. Peach gave Mario a questioning look, while the latter just gave a tiny shrug; he had no idea what was going on. Meanwhile Sonic kept his eyes on the ground, expression blank and feeling completely humiliated. It was one of those rare instances where he had nothing to say, no quip to make everything better. He'd messed up, _big_ time, and now he had to deal with the consequences.

"Maybe next time try using some common sense," Shadow continued, apparently not done with his scathing comments. "Your philosophy has always been to smash first and ask questions later. Perhaps you should change your way of thinking." With that he warped away using Chaos Control, leaving the remaining members of the two teams in an awkward position.

"Sonic..." Tails tried, but Sonic simply shook his head and bolted away from the group, leaving a blue streak in his wake. Even though he was out of sight Mario feebly reached out for Sonic, a saddened expression on his face.

"Luigi, you're in charge of the team for awhile. I'm going to go find Sonic." Mario instructed, sprinting off in the general direction Sonic had disappeared in. Luigi looked stunned for a moment, turning towards Team Mario and awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Um... so I guess we should all get settled into our rooms..."

/~/

Sonic hadn't gotten very far. Mario found him leaned up against a tree, tugging on his earring in frustration. Mario figured it must have become a nervous habit of his. At the sound of Mario's approach Sonic's head snapped up, looking scared for a moment before his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Are you here to judge me too?" he venomously spat, Mario flinching at Sonic's tone.

"I want to know what happened," Mario stated honestly, sitting next to Sonic and wrapping his arm around him. "All of it, I don't care how ugly things got. I need to know the truth, Sonic."

Sonic was quiet for a moment, before he ran a hand through his quills and stared up at the cloudy sky. "Well... Tails informed me that Eggman had been capturin' animals in capsules like back in the old days. So we headed out on the Tornado to stop him. Eggman shot us down, an' we landed on a place in the clouds known as the 'Lost Hex'."

Mario nodded, taking in the new information.

"So, Eggman got control of the Zeti that lived there, known as 'The Deadly Six,'" Sonic continued. "He controlled them usin' somethin' called the 'Cacophonic Conch', but I kinda kicked it out of Eggman's hand an' destroyed it without knowin' what it did first." At this statement Mario rolled his eyes. Typical Sonic. "The Zeti rebelled against Eggman, so me an' him actually had to team up to take down the Zeti, since they'd gotten ahold of a device of his that drained energy from the world."

Mario turned to Sonic, wide-eyed. "He... has a machine that can do that?"

Sonic grimaced. "Yeah, even though he said that he meant no harm with it, I don't believe him for a minute. Anyway, Tails ended up... getting kidnapped by the Zeti," His hands clenched into fists, and Mario could tell it was a difficult topic for Sonic to talk about. "They informed me that they were gonna turn him into a robot; I almost thought they did too." Sonic's voice got quiet and he took a deep breath before continuing. "An' as if that wasn't bad enough, I watched Knuckles and Amy die in front of me through the Miles Electric, and there was nothin' I could do about it." Reaching into his quills Sonic produced Mario's gold coin. "I tried to contact you after I was left completely alone in Lava Mountain; Eggman had faked his own death as well. I couldn't though... I guess my world was so dead that communication didn't work."

"So that's why none of us could get ahold of you..." Mario murmured. "Your world is fine now though, right?"

Sonic snorted. "Yeah, it's fine now after Tails managed to reverse Eggman's machine to give back the energy he stole. But that doesn't change the fact that I put it in danger because I did somethin' stupid. So I'm not exactly angry at my team for their behavior, considering I deserve it."

Mario couldn't really disagree with Sonic, though he did think a few comments Shadow had made were a bit too harsh. He patted Sonic on the arm in attempt to comfort him. "I'm sure they'll come around eventually. They can't stay mad at you forever."

Sonic made a face as if he disagreed, then sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right; I just wish they'd stop pointing it out. I know I made a critical mistake, they don't need to keep remindin' me."

Mario remained silent, processing all the new information. After a moment Sonic sighed.

"You're gonna yell at me too, aren't you?"

"No Sonic, I'm not going to yell at you. But I will say that next time you should be a little more careful." He said it in a casual enough way, but anger flared in Sonic's chest as his hands balled into fists; for some reason that statement had irritated the hell out of him.

"As if I don't already know that?" he snapped, breaking free from Mario and standing, folding his arms over his chest. "Look, I'm not a child, I'm an adult, so start treating me like one!"

"But I wasn't treating you like a child..." Mario started, before Sonic gave him a sharp glare.

"Yes you were!" he argued, voice beginning to rise in volume. "Not all of us can be perfect y'know! Not all of us can be a goody two-shoes who can do nothin' wrong!"

Mario's mouth twitched, realizing this wasn't exactly about his latest adventure anymore. No, this was leftover jealously from their rivalry, something that had bubbled to the surface and Sonic was letting out now in his frustration. He stood and attempted to reach out for Sonic again, but Sonic inched away with a scowl on his face.

"Go away," he spat, eyes trailing to the ground. "I don't wanna see you right now."

"Sonic..." Mario tried a final time, before Sonic disappeared once again, leaving behind a series of footsteps in the snow. Mario was tempted to follow them, before the little voice in his head told him otherwise. If Sonic wanted to be left alone at that moment, so be it. Sighing Mario trudged back through the snow, shivering in the cold air. Chances were that Sonic was probably cold as well, so he suspected he'd eventually find his way to the hotel.

After receiving his key from the main desk he headed up the stairs to the room, noticing that someone had left both his and Sonic's luggage on the ground. Unlocking the door and stepping inside he dragged the bags in and shut the door behind him. Clicking his tongue he glanced out the window before grabbing a book from his bag and leaning up against the headrest of his bed.

At some point he realized he must have fallen asleep, because when he woke the book was lying on the floor and the clock read seven in the morning. It wasn't until he glanced around the room did he realize that Sonic had not come to the hotel at any point during the night, as his bags were exactly how Mario had left them and the adjacent bed hadn't been touched.

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** What Master Hand meant by 'bending the rules' was that he wasn't supposed to tell Mario that he'd received a response from Sonic. But since he noticed that Mario was concerned and anxious over it, he decided to put his mind at ease. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Cool Guy:** Mario, Sonic and Mega Man would be best friends. It only makes sense. And wow... thank you so much! I don't think you realize how much that means to me. And I'll always continue to write, it's been my passion since I was a little girl and now that I have my muse back I don't see myself stopping for quite some time. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Guest:** Their interactions will be a bit interesting to say the least. I can't go too much into detail because it spoils things later on, but hopefully you guys will like it. Thank you for the review!

 **MikySP:** The Mii Fighters will not be appearing in this fanfiction. I tried to include them into the roster, but in the end I decided that the Mii's worked better working for Master Hand and as residents of Doppel. There are a couple of significant Mii's showing up later in the fic, but their characters are already established and they already have names. Sorry! But thank you for the review!

 **Guest:** The only other story canon to this one thus far is _The Song Of Broken Time._ Everything else takes place in alternate timelines. But Peach doesn't really strike me as the jealous type. Funny you should bring her up though, as she's a major character next chapter! Thank you for the review!


	25. Everything is Alright

**Spoilers: For _Super Princess Peach,_ _Super Mario 3D World,_ and _Super Mario RPG._  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty-Five: Everything is Alright~_  


"Where _is_ he?"

Mario trudged through the snow, hands shoved deep into the pockets of the winter jacket he wore. Even still, the biting cold stung his face as he walked, trying to find any signs of footsteps in the snow. Unfortunately another blanket of snow had fallen the night before, covering any sort of clues. He let out a heavy sigh, staring up into the cloudy sky above; it looked like it was going to snow again. He momentarily wondered if it was snowing where his parents were, which of course led into a bit of worry wondering how they were doing. Even though him and Luigi had recently received letters from them, he was still concerned like any child with aging parents would be.

"Mario?"

Mario turned to see Peach wandering towards him with concern in her eyes. "What are you doing out here?" she questioned.

"I'm looking for Sonic," he replied hastily. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"I haven't..." Peach trailed off, frowning. "I figured there was a reason he wasn't at breakfast."

Ah yes, breakfast. One of the most awkward Mario had ever participated in, and he'd been through some pretty awkward ones at the Smash Mansion. He shuddered as he desperately tried to repress the memories of Kirby being Falcon Punched across the dining room, Luigi being so startled he hid under the table, accidentally bumping into Samus' leg, which somehow resulted in half of the mansions residents brawling each other right there in the dining room. Master Hand hadn't been too thrilled about that one to say the least. But even that was nothing compared to the pairs of eyes on you, silently judging you as the last thing they saw was you heading after their team captain.

"Let me help you look," Peach offered. "Daisy is busy with Luigi today, and Amy and Blaze are training."

Mario blinked a few times at the offer, eventually nodding. "Alright. It would be nice to have some company."

Smiling, Peach treaded through the snow with Mario, both of them in a comfortable silence for several minutes, until Peach spoke up again.

"It would be nice if Lucario were here," she mused, Mario nodding in agreement. With the Pokemon's ability to sense auras, it would have been easier to find Sonic in the endless sea of white.

"I wish I could use my pyrokinesis to melt some of this snow..." Mario grumbled. "But something tells me that's against the rules."

Peach giggled lightly, covering her mouth with her hand. "Probably," she responded sweetly, before her face took on a more serious tone. "Mario... since we're alone at the moment, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Mario immediately stopped walking, turning towards Peach with a bewildered expression. " _Sì?_ " he questioned, a hint of concern in his voice.

Peach glanced up at the sky, pondering on how to word things. "I just want to say... thank you. I know I've said it before, but thank you. For everything you've done for the Mushroom Kingdom. Without you and Luigi, I'm sure the kingdom would have fallen into despair, especially with Bowser being able to... nullify my power."

Mario's eyes softened, feeling quite touched by Peach's words. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? Me and Luigi were called back to the Mushroom Kingdom for a reason... it had to be because of you." They began walking again, snow crunching beneath their boots.

Peach half-smiled. "I still believe that you were brought back to the Mushroom Kingdom because you're Star Children. Or perhaps it's part of some destiny, similar to how Link and Zelda are reincarnated over and over to take down Ganondorf," she bit her lip, thinking. "Still, I wish there was more I could do. That's why I accepted my invitation to Smash; I wanted to get stronger so I could help out more."

The honesty dripping from her voice and the sad way she said it caused Mario to blink back a few tears. "Peach... you _do_ help out. Remember that time when the tables were turned and Bowser got Luigi and me instead of you? You saved us that time... and just recently you joined us to save the Sprixie Kingdom! Not to mention the time you joined up with all of us to take down Smithy!"

"It's not enough though," she stated firmly, one of her gloved hands clenching into a fist. "Sure I was able to help protect the Sprixie Kingdom... but I can barely protect my own. I keep hoping that one day we'll have peace between our two kingdoms, but as the years pass I'm beginning to lose faith. What does Bowser want with my magic? What's he planning on doing? I just want the senseless fighting to stop." _  
_

"We all do," Mario responded. "But until that happens... I promise that I'll protect you. You have my word."

Peach sadly smiled. "Thank you Mario; I am forever in your debt," she sighed, gazing up into the sky. "We still haven't found Sonic yet," she murmured. "I'm worried about him."

Mario's face went sullen as well as he realized Peach was right, they'd been walking for quite a while and still no sight of the Blue Blur. Anxious knots formed in Mario's stomach, he didn't like the fact that they couldn't find him.

"Should we go out a bit further?" Peach questioned, Mario pondering for a moment before shaking his head.

"No... no. I'm... sure he'll turn up eventually. Who knows, maybe he found his way to the hotel already."

"Hopefully," Peach added as the two turned and began to head back. "He's going to get hypothermia out here if he stays out too much longer."

Another thing that worried Mario. If it was summer, fine, Sonic could probably find somewhere shady to rest. But it was the dead of winter, and even in the middle of the day wrapped under several layers of clothing it was still freezing. He highly suspected Sonic hadn't thought that through before he ran off like that.

The two continued walking in silence for several minutes until the familiar buildings came into view. Sighing Mario turned to Peach, a small yet sad smile on his face.

"Well, even though we didn't find anything... _grazie_ for the company Peach. And for the talk."

Peach smiled back. "Don't mention it Mario. I'll ask around a bit more and see if anyone's seen Sonic. I'll let you know if I find anything."

" _Grazie._ I'll see you around."

Nodding, Peach waved and began to head in the direction of the stadium, probably to find Amy and Blaze. Meanwhile Mario began to tread towards the hotel, chewing on his bottom lip as he opened the door and stepped inside. Making his way to his and Sonic's room, he hesitated for a moment before fitting the key into the lock and opening the door.

Nothing. Sonic _still_ hadn't made his way to the room yet. Frowning, Mario sat down on the edge of his mattress and contemplated what to do. Sonic would surely have to return today, or else the Mii's would have to get involved. Without their team captain, it was very possible that Team Sonic would be eliminated. And he knew that Sonic wouldn't let that happen, so chances of him returning within the next few hours were high. When Sonic returned Mario wanted to make sure that he felt welcome and that there were no hard feelings... he was just stumped as to what he could do. It wasn't until he glanced down at the blankets on his bed did something click in his brain and he abruptly stood, a somewhat mischievous grin on his face.

He knew exactly what he could do.

/~/

It was evening when the door finally opened; Mario could see Sonic's silhouette as he stepped into the dark room, fumbling around for the lightswitch. When he finally found it and the room was bathed in light, he recoiled in slight surprise at the sight in front of him.

A blanket fort. Mario had crafted a blanket fort in the time that he'd been gone, and even though he said nothing Sonic knew this was some sort of way to confirm that they were still friends.

"Where were you?" Mario asked lightly. Sonic shrugged.

"I kinda... did a few laps around the planet to clear my head," he admitted, Mario quietly sighing in relief. At least he knew that Sonic hadn't spent all of it in the cold.

"Don't just stand there Sonic, come on in."

While he hesitated for a moment, Sonic eventually ducked into the blanket fort, though he avoided eye contact with Mario. An uncomfortable silence ensued, until Sonic finally heaved a sigh.

"...Sorry I snapped at you," he murmured, while Mario just shrugged it off.

"It's fine... you were frustrated. I get it."

Sonic groaned, dropping his face into his hands. "Are they still mad at me?" he asked after a moment.

"I don't know," Mario admitted. "I haven't talked to any of them all day. The closest thing I got was a few of them glaring at me suspiciously when you didn't show up at breakfast."

Sonic hummed, lifting his head to stare at the makeshift ceiling above. "Figures..."

Another bout of awkward silence passed, neither of them really knowing where to steer the conversation. It was pretty obvious to Mario that Sonic still needed to get something out of his system, it was just a matter of when.

"I know I was an idiot."

Mario blinked at Sonic's blunt statement, turning towards him.

"Usually I'm the one savin' the world, an' this time I was the one who nearly destroyed it. It's... not a good feelin', y'know? An' now I'm just totally paranoid about what Eggman has up his sleeve next," Sonic's eyes suddenly widened. "Have him an' Bowser tried anything?!"

"Surprisingly no, they seem to be behaving themselves this time around," Mario answered. "Though that's concerning all on it's own."

Sonic nodded, before letting out a heavy sigh. Mario frowned, and scooted closer to his friend, laying an arm around his shoulders in order to provide any sort of comfort to him. Sonic in turn laid his head on Mario's shoulder, giving Mario a sense of déjà vu as he recalled the same situation had happened before, only the roles had been reversed. What was different was the fact that Sonic curled into Mario, Mario wrapping Sonic into a warm embrace before flinching at how cold Sonic was.

"Thank you," Sonic murmured, emotion thick in his voice.

"What for?" Mario asked. Sonic nuzzled against Mario, seemingly getting comfortable in the position he was currently in.

"For bein' my second best friend," Sonic mumbled into his shirt. "For not judging me when it felt like everyone else was..."

Mario didn't have a response to that, so he just held Sonic closer in comfort, lying them both down so that they were side-by-side.

When Mario woke the next morning, he found that Sonic hadn't moved; still holding onto him and looking the most peaceful Mario had ever seen him.

And for a single moment, Mario felt a small twinge in his heart.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** Yeah, Sonic had a bit of a short fuse there, didn't he? That's actually a trait he apparently has according to several instruction manuals, but strangely it's never been explored in the games as far as I can remember. So I decided to write it back in to see where it went, which naturally led to a fallout between him and Mario. Though everything seems fine between them now. :) Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Guest:** As the writer, I've asked myself the same question several times. The answer is not yet, but soon. Thank you for the review!

 **Cat** **byShynie. EXE:** Ha, why thank you! Glad to see you're enjoying the fic! Thank you for the review!

 **Cool Guy:** Yeah, Sonic did feel pretty horrible for losing his temper with Mario. At least he's safe now and him and Mario are still friends. :) Thank you for the review!


	26. Primary Colour Crew, Assemble!

**AN: Alright, so from this point onward we'll be dealing with multiple different characters from multiple franchises. I've decided to give up on the spoiler tag at the beginning of each chapter, and I'll instead just warn you that the following chapters may contain spoilers for nearly every single franchise featured in Sm4sh. I figured it was a bit easier that way.  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Twenty-Six: Primary Colour Crew, Assemble!~_

The rest of the Olympics passed by without incident. Slowly the members of Team Sonic began to forgive their leader, and by the end it was like nothing had ever changed between any of them. Well, Shadow was still a little bit pissed, but when wasn't he? Standing at the teleporters Sonic quickly hugged Tails before letting him go, looking him straight in the eye.

"Now, y'know what to do if Eggman happens to attack, right?"

Tails nodded. "Of course! And if we need extra help... I can transport Blaze over in an instant. Marine too!"

Sonic grinned and ruffled Tails' bangs. "Of course you'd wanna see Marine again," he teased, causing Tails to turn red.

 _"Sonic!"_ he cried, Sonic chuckling at the reaction he got.

"Aw, what's the matter buddy? A little shy, hm?"

"Shut _up!"_ Tails squealed, shoving his big brother away in embarrassment. Sonic only laughed, before waving goodbye to his friends as they stepped into the teleporter. It felt strange that he wasn't going back with them this time, and Mario noticed how Sonic averted his eyes as the light enveloped the machine. Turning his head he found his own friends saying goodbye to Waluigi and Daisy, Peach and Luigi lamenting on how they wished Daisy would be coming with them. Waluigi meanwhile eyed Sonic distastefully, wondering how a blue rat had managed to get into the fabled Smash Mansion and not himself. He momentarily wondered if he could... "dispose of"... Sonic and sneak into the mansion wearing a Sonic costume.

...Probably not. Letting out a dejected "Wah..." he slunk into the teleporter with Daisy, who inched away from him thanks to past experiences with him. Mario patted Luigi's arm consolingly as the younger brother glanced away, trying not to let tears form in his eyes over being separated from Daisy once again.

With another whir and flash the Mushroom Kingdom and Sarasaland residents were gone as well, and the Mii tapped a few keys on her keyboard, readying the teleporter again.

"Well that's a new location..." she murmured to herself before motioning the soon-to-be Smashers inside the teleporter. "Alright guys, have fun... wherever you're going."

"Which is technically nowhere," Sonic muttered, Mario once again needing to bite his tongue in order to hold back his laughter. Sonic tilted his head towards Mario in amusement, Mario grinning right back. In a flash of light they were gone as well, all of them stepping out into the familiar lobby of the one in the void between dimensions.

"Ah good, you're all here!" the Mii exclaimed, grinning as the Smashers stepped out of the teleporter. "Kapp'n is waiting with the bus in order to bring you to the mansion, so have fun!"

One by one the Smashers filed out of the building and out into Smash Plaza, where they boarded the bus and were swiftly driven to the Smash Mansion. Well, swiftly for most of them, to Sonic it was still unbearably slow and he kept fidgeting, something that several of the other Smashers noticed. Thankfully the bus ride didn't take long at all, and soon enough they were back at the mansion for another round of beating each other up. As soon as the bus stopped Sonic immediately grabbed his bags and was the first one off of the bus, reveling in the fact that he was no longer confined. Mario was the next one off the bus, an eyebrow raised as he watched Sonic before shaking his head and heading in the direction of the mansion. Along the way he noticed several more new faces, some of which he vaguely recognized and others who he didn't. At some point Sonic had caught up with him, and they were casually chatting as they headed to the dormitories when a bullet whizzed between Sonic's ears, leaving a hole in the wall in front of them.

"Tch, so close," a new voice crooned, and Sonic's eyes went wide as he realized he _recognized_ the voice. There was only one other person he knew besides Shadow who used a gun, and thickly swallowing he turned with a sheepish grin on his face.

"H-Hey Bayo. Didn't know you were here."

"Well, it seems _someone_ recognized my talent, unlike you who wouldn't even invite me to go racing!" she threw back her head and let out a haughty laugh, before her gaze focused on Mario, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "And _you_ must be the famous Mario. Bayonetta's the name, it's nice to meet you," she held her hand out for Mario to shake, and after a moments hesitation he did, looking between Sonic and Bayonetta.

"So... how do you two know each other?" Mario questioned, genuinely curious. Sonic laughed uncomfortably, running a hand through his quills.

"Uh... it's kinda a long story..."

"You boys better watch yourself on the battlefield. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find that _darling_ little angel."

With that she sauntered away, Mario blinking several times before turning to Sonic. "You sure do have some... _interesting_ friends."

"I wouldn't necessarily call her a 'friend', an' from the sounds of it she's already terrorizing Pit," Sonic facepalmed, groaning. "She hunts angels an' demons, though I'm sure Master Hand won't let her harm another Smasher," he turned towards the still smouldering hole in the wall and grimaced. "Though that says otherwise."

"I didn't know you went racing," Mario admitted, continuing towards the dormitories with Sonic in tow. "I didn't even know you had a car; I figured you wouldn't need one with how fast you naturally are. Wouldn't it just be easier to race on foot?"

"Then that would be no fun!" Sonic protested. "Is it really that hard to believe that I like fair competition? You of all people should know that."

"True," Mario sighed, pushing open the door that led to the dormitories. As soon as they were outside the laughs of Toon Link, Ness and Lucas rang through the air as they played with eight unfamiliar looking children, all of them pausing in their activities as soon as they spotted the duo. One of the new children - a little girl who looked no more than six with pink hair - hurried up to Sonic with her eyes wide.

"Are you related to the Able Sisters?" she asked in a slight lisp thanks to missing a couple of teeth, Sonic being somewhat taken aback by her question.

"Uh..."

"That's Sonic the Hedgehog, Rose!" Toon Link exclaimed, addressing the girl by name. Rose giggled, gazing up at Sonic with adoration.

"You look so much like Mable, Sable and Label," she whispered in awe. "Will you be my friend? Will you come back to the Animal Forest with us?"

"So Kapp'n knows them," Mario mumbled while Sonic chuckled and ruffled Rose's hair.

"Aw kiddo, the Animal Forest is probably great, but I got things to do in my own world. But sure I'll be your friend!"

"Yay!" Rose cheered, bounding back over to her friends. "He said he'd be friends with us!"

"Don'tcha think they're a little too young to be Smashers?" Sonic whispered to Mario, who could only shrug.

"Master Hand must've had a reason to invite them here. He never invites someone here unless they have fighting potential. Though from what I've heard from Kapp'n, the Animal Forest is a peaceful place." he frowned, suddenly feeling a bit disturbed.

"They all have axes," Sonic whispered in horror as the eight newcomers brandished them, and while Toon Link and Ness seemed unfazed Lucas timidly hid behind Ness. "Nevermind what I said, let's get out of here."

"I'm sure the axes are just for chopping down trees," Mario started, before trailing off as he watched Rose and one of the other new children - a boy with a red shirt - swing their axes at each other as if having a swordfight. "I stand corrected apparently."

"Smash seems a little more... dysfunctional than last time." Sonic commented as him and Mario entered the dormitories. Mario raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's always been pretty dysfunctional, especially with Crazy Hand around. But I agree, it gets more hectic with each newcomer," he looked down at Sonic and smirked. "You should know that."

"Quiet, you."

"Mario! Sonic!"

The duo looked down the hallway and smiled as they saw Mega Man approaching, happily waving. A new Smasher trailed behind him, and at first neither Mario or Sonic knew who it was. It wasn't until they got closer did Mario's breath hitch and Sonic's eyes went wide.

"I made a new friend when you guys were gone!" Mega Man stated cheerfully. "Mario, Sonic, this is Pac-Man!"

"I can't believe it," Mario murmured, holding his hand out. "It's such an honor to meet you, Pac-Man."

Pac-Man made a few beeping sounds in response, Mega Man translating a moment later as, "It's an honor to meet you as well."

"Man, Master Hand is just full of surprises, isn't he?" Sonic spoke next, holding out his hand for Pac-Man to shake. "So you're the famous Pac-Man, huh? Great to meetcha too!"

"I was hoping the four of us could be really good friends," Mega Man murmured, glancing at the faces of his fellow Smashers. "I was hoping that if you two weren't busy... we could all get to know each other a bit better."

Sonic nudged Mario in the arm. "That sounds like what we did last tournament with Snake."

 _"Sì,"_ Mario frowned upon hearing Snake's name. "Hey, has anyone by the name of Snake shown up at the mansion recently?"

"Or Red, for that matter," Sonic added.

Mega Man's eyes flashed, obviously checking his database before responding.

"No one by either of those names have shown up recently. I can tell you who has shown up recently though."

"No need," Mario stated. "We'll probably find out who is and isn't here soon enough."

"How 'bout me and Mar get settled into our rooms, an' we'll meet up in a hour in the games room, kay?" Sonic proposed, Mega Man and Pac-Man nodded.

"Sounds fun! See you guys then!" Mega Man happily chirped, wandering down the hallway with Pac-Man in tow.

"Wow... Pac-Man," Mario breathed as they stopped outside of his door. Pulling his key from his pocket he continued, "That's just incredible."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's totally awesome! Especially how Megs was able to befriend him so quickly," he looked down the hallway and clicked his tongue. "Anyway, I gotta head to my room an' unpack my things. See you in an hour!"

"With how ironically slow you are at unpacking, I highly doubt it!" Mario called after him. Sonic shot a glare over his shoulder, scoffing before continuing down the hallway with a hint of a smirk on his face.

/~/

As it turned out, Pac-Man was really easy to get along with. Mega Man translated his tales about how he'd run through the mazes collecting Power Pellets and fruits all while avoiding Pinky, Inky, Blinky and Clyde. Eventually though he'd settled down with his wife and had a child, something that shocked both Mario and Sonic. While they knew he had gotten married, they hadn't realized that he was a father as well.

When Pac-Man had finished telling of his adventures, Mega Man decided to share some of his stories of going toe-to-toe with Dr. Wily. Though the tales he seemed to enjoy telling the most were the ones when he was helping his father Dr. Light with his sister Roll and robot pets Rush and Beat. It wasn't that surprising though, Mega Man was initially designed as a housekeeping robot and volunteered to become a warrior after Dr. Wily had taken control of the Robot Masters. With this in mind it wasn't much of a surprise to learn that Mega Man disliked fighting, only accepting his invitation to Smash after some urging from Dr. Light.

Sonic decided to share his tales next, Mega Man being immensely impressed by how much the hedgehog had managed to do in such a short time span, while Pac-Man commended his athletic abilities.

Mario was last to share his adventures, though he didn't tell many, only the ones that really stuck out like the time he was forced to clean Isle Delfino after a misunderstanding and when the Shroob had invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. It was after this when Sonic snickered, the other three turning towards him curiously.

"Y'know, we should totally name ourselves something."

"Why?" Mario questioned, tilting his head.

"Well, 'cause we all get along so well, we should start a club or somethin'. An' every club needs a name, so what's it gonna be?"

"Hold up," Mario started, putting a hand up. "Who said that I wanted to be in a club with you?"

"I did." Sonic replied in a tone that indicated Mario really had no choice in the matter. Pac-Man gave Mega Man a questioning look, emitting a few low beeps only the robot could hear. Mega Man just shrugged in response, watching their two friends bicker with each other.

"But what if _they_ don't want to join a club?!" Mario hissed, pointing at Mega Man and Pac-Man.

"Well let's find out," Sonic stated casually, looking over at them. "Hey guys, you wanna join a club with me and Mar?"

"For the record, I never actually said I'd join." Mario spoke up, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears as Mega Man pondered it for a moment, before nodding in confirmation.

"What about you, Pac?" Sonic questioned. Pac-Man considered it, before giving a thumbs-up.

"Great!" Sonic exclaimed, turning towards Mario. "Three against one, Mar, you're in this club whether you wanna be or not."

"Alright then," Mario sighed, Sonic smiling brightly.

"Okay, name time!" he clasped his hands together, eagerly looking at his new clubmates. "Anyone got any suggestions?"

"It should be something that represents all of us," Mega Man spoke. "Something unique to the four of us, and the four of us alone."

Pac-Man suddenly emitted a few beeps, Mario glancing over at him.

"What did he say?" Mario asked.

"Pac-Man suggested the name 'The Primary Colour Crew'." Mega Man translated, Sonic snickering at the title.

"That sounds so dumb," he started, before the largest grin spread across his face. "It's perfect! Now we just need a leader."

"Aren't you the leader?" Mario questioned, glancing over at Sonic. "After all, you're the one who wanted to start this club."

"No, I want you to be the leader, Mar."

The statement caught Mario by surprise, and for a moment he wondered if Sonic was joking. After all, they technically were still rivals and still liked to get the occasional rise out of the other. However after a few moments of silence, Mario realized Sonic was being sincere.

"Are you two alright with this?" he asked Mega Man and Pac-Man, who responded with a nod and thumbs-up, respectively. A short silence ensued before Mario laughed, placing his hand out in front of him.

"Then... I guess I should say 'Welcome to the club' or something like that."

Sonic chuckled, before rising from his seat and placing his hand atop Mario's. "That was _so_ lame, o' great leader of ours."

Mario gave Sonic an exasperated look as Mega Man added his hand to the pile. Finally Pac-Man placed his hand on top of Mega Man's, and the newly form club grinned at each other, before removing their hands. Pac-Man began to speak, Mega Man translating as, "What's our first order of business, leader?"

Mario suddenly had three pairs of eyes on him, and he had a flashback of the first Smash tournament when he was elected as leader of the Smashers, with everyone looking to him not knowing what to do. It was a surreal moment, and it took a moment of thinking to realize what they could all do.

"How about a few rounds of Smash Run?"

"Oh _heck_ yes!" Sonic cried, leaping up from his spot and grabbing Mario's arm. "Come on guys, I agree with Mar, let's go play Smash Run!"

"What about Smash Tour?" Mega Man questioned, Sonic giving the robot in question a cold stare.

"Nobody likes Smash Tour," Sonic replied in a flat voice as they all began to file out of the games room and towards the teleporters. As they did Mario noticed that Sonic was still holding onto his arm.

He didn't know how to feel about that.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** Yeah, we needed a nice, calm chapter before the storm that is the Smash Mansion. Plus, I really wanted to give Peach some time in the spotlight too, after all she is one of my favorite characters! Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Guest:** Aw darn, you figured out the entire subplot of this part of the story! In all seriousness though, your review made me laugh really hard, and yes, Mario had a moment where he felt stronger affections for Sonic. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **CatbyShynie. EXE:** Oh, this isn't going to start a love triangle in the slightest! While it is true that in this timeline Mario had feelings for Peach, they're probably long gone by this point in the story, and Peach never felt any sort of romantic feelings for Mario in the first place. I can't ignore their strong bond though - just like I can't ignore Mario's bond with Luigi or Sonic's bond with Tails. But I can assure you that no one is secretly jealous of the other, in fact, I imagine Peach and Sonic get along quite well! Thank you for the review! **  
**

* * *

 **AN: Yes, I'm fully aware that The Primary Colour Crew is a terrible name. But it's a step up from what I was calling them before, which was The Squad. Seriously, I love seeing these four portrayed as friends. :) And as a sidenote, no matter what the timeline these four will always bond to become The Primary Colour Crew in my stories.  
**

 **~Steel**


	27. Rest in Peace

_~Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rest in Peace~_

"...an' we still don't know what the surprise is in the meatloaf surprise, but at least none of us have gotten sick yet."

Mega Man and Pac-Man trailed behind Sonic as he rattled off several in's and out's of the mansion, all while giving them a bit more of a 'Grand Tour'. What Sonic failed to realize was that Mega Man had the entire map of the mansion downloaded into his database, and since him and Pac-Man were such good friends Pac-Man knew where everything was as well. Not to mention several other Smashers had made the two feel at home while Mario and Sonic had been gone, so they knew most of what Sonic was telling them. However, neither of them had the heart to tell Sonic, and just nodded as he continued listing off various facts.

Passing by a window, Sonic noticed Pikachu sitting on the sill, staring outside with his ears flattened against his head. He frowned, Pikachu, Jigglypuff, even Mewtwo and Greninja had been acting awfully strange today, almost as if they knew something that no one else did. It was a little heartbreaking to see their normally cheerful faces so distressed. He wondered if it had something to do with the fact that Red was no longer attending the tournament, only sending Charizard this time around. Sure, he may not have been the trainer of any of the Pokémon other than his own, but he did take care of them since he was experienced in the field.

Then again, it was a bit cloudy outside, and Pokémon were known to be in tune with nature. Maybe they could just sense a storm rolling in or something.

"An' as you both know, this is the way out to the dormitories," Sonic continued to Mega Man and Pac-Man, opening the door and stepping outside. "An' behind the dormitories is the garden, usually tended to by Olimar."

"As of recently, Alph as well!" Mega Man added, before placing a hand over his mouth realizing what he'd just said. Sonic halted, eyeing Mega Man with a peeved expression.

"You guys knew all of this already, didn't ya?" he asked flatly. Mega Man and Pac-Man looked down sheepishly as Sonic rolled his eyes, heading back inside the mansion.

"Of course you did," he sighed. "I keep forgetting that you're a robot Megs, an' that you can just download everything. I hafta admit though, it sounds like a pretty nifty ability to have."

"Oh, it is!" Mega Man responded, brightening somewhat. He seemed ready to go into detail about it when the PA system crackled to life, the trio of friends staring up at the speaker curiously as Master Hand's voice boomed through the facility.

"Attention all Smashers, would you please make your way to the auditorium. It is urgent. I repeat, all Smashers are to report to the auditorium. Thank you."

That didn't sound good. Sonic blinked, turning to his friends in confusion before making their way through the halls to the auditorium. Master Hand sounded distressed, and Sonic felt a hint of anxiety in his stomach as he wondered if they were in some sort of danger. As the Subspace Incident proved, this realm wasn't as safe as they'd originally thought, though Master Hand and Crazy Hand were taking measures in order to ensure something like that wouldn't happen again. That didn't mean that things couldn't slip through the cracks however...

Entering the auditorium Sonic spied Mario sitting with Luigi, the row behind them free. Pointing Mega Man and Pac-Man in the direction of the seats, they climbed the steps and slid into the bleachers, Sonic tapping Mario on the shoulder.

Mario jumped, whirling around before relaxing when he noticed it was just Sonic.

"D'you know what this is about?" Sonic questioned, Mario shaking his head. He was just as confused and on edge as everyone else was, and he really hoped that this meeting was nothing more than Crazy Hand doing something stupid again.

Then again, he'd seen the way the Pokémon had been acting as well. Something was wrong, and as Master Hand floated to the podium he swore no one in the room was breathing. He could feel Sonic's hand on his shoulder, like he needed comfort or support. Mario could relate, his nerves had gone into overdrive the moment they'd received the message.

"Good afternoon Smashers," Master Hand began, his voice grim. "As I'm sure you're all aware, the tournament has not been able to start because I was still attempting to get ahold of some of our former fighters. Unfortunately some of them cannot be here, like the Ice Climbers thanks to Nana breaking both of her legs, and Red due to traveling in a new region," he paused for a moment before continuing. "However, there was one Smasher in particular I very much wanted back at the mansion for this tournament, Solid Snake."

Mario and Sonic both tensed at Snake's name being mentioned, waiting for Master Hand to continue.

"For the longest time I could not get into contact with anyone from his world, but I recently managed to speak with somebody who gave me some very troubling news," Master Hand let out a heavy sigh, almost as if he did not wish to place this burden on his Smashers. "I regret to inform you all that Snake has passed away."

Silence fell across the whole room, Master Hand's words replaying over and over in the Smasher's minds as they processed the information they were just given. Mario felt Sonic's grip on his shoulder had tightened, and even though it was painful it was nothing compared to the sorrow that suddenly flooded his heart.

From the front row, Samus stood and briskly walked to the door, face stoic as she violently pushed it open, letting it swing shut behind her with a resounding _boom._ Sonic saw Pit begin to stand to go after her, but was held back by Palutena who simply shook her head, Samus needed to be alone at that moment.

Another bout of silence ensued, until quiet sniffles found their way to the ears of the Smashers, heads turning in the direction of the sound. Lucas had begun to cry, frantically wiping his eyes and trying to stay quiet as Ness attempted to console him. Upon seeing her friend cry Rose began to sob as well, burying her face in the shirt of one of her friends from the Animal Forest.

Upon seeing the youngest of them break down, the older Smashers began to weep, one by one. Zelda clasped her hands in a silent prayer, while Ike bit his lip and looked down, trying not to let anyone see the tears pressing the back of his eyes. Anyone who wore a hat removed it and held it over their hearts, while others turned to their friends for comfort. Even some of the newcomers began to cry, seeing everyone else in such a broken-up state.

"Will there be a service, Master Hand?" Peach questioned, her voice light and shaky as she wiped her eyes, mascara streaking across her white gloves. Rosalina wrapped an arm around her friend in support, cradling her Luma in the other as she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Yes," Master Hand confirmed. "While Snake has been buried in his world, we will be having a service here in two days time, in the garden. Attendance is mandatory, and if any of you see Samus please let her know. You are free to go now, and I am deeply sorry for your loss."

With that Master Hand floated away from the podium, as the Smashers just sat on the bleachers digesting what they were told. Sonic squeezed Mario's shoulder, knowing that he was crying by the way his form was shaking. To his surprise, Mario reached up and placed his hand on top of Sonic's, grateful for the comfort in this time.

Only a second later a single tear rolled down Sonic's cheek, splattering onto the bleachers below.

/~/

The next two days were the most depressing days Sonic could remember spending in the mansion. It was like everyone had lost all their energy, wandering around like zombies and the slightest thing could set anyone off into a fit of crying. Basically the only thing they could do was be there to support each other until the service was held.

Sonic sighed as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, tugging uncomfortably at the formal shirt and jacket he was wearing. It wasn't often he wore actual clothing, and every time he did he felt restrained by the tight fabric on his fur. But for Snake... he could suck it up for just one day.

Reaching up Sonic removed the hoop from his ear, setting it down on the counter. He'd contemplated keeping it in, but after mulling it over he decided to not wear it, fearing it could be seen as disrespectful if he wore it. Taking a deep breath he exited the bathroom, stepping into his room and quickly checking the time. Quarter to noon - perfect. He could meet up with Mario, Mega Man and Pac-Man and they would all head to the back garden together.

Opening his door he jumped slightly, having not expected Mario to be standing there looking like he'd been ready to knock on his door. Mega Man and Pac-Man stood a little ways away, Mega Man also tugging on his clothes while Pac-Man simply wore a red bow tie.

But it was Mario that Sonic's gaze had focused on, looking quite different in formal attire. He felt heat rush to his face, but quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts, closing the door and locking it behind him.

"We should get moving," Mega Man stated, watching as a few other Smashers trickled out of their rooms. "We don't want to be late."

"Of course," Mario stated. Together, the quartet began to walk down the hallway, heading towards the garden. On their way over Sonic took a nervous breath and poked Mario in the arm.

"Look, I know this is probably an inappropriate thing to say today because of the circumstances behind it... but you look nice wearin' that."

Mario raised an eyebrow, giving Sonic an odd look wondering if he was messing with him. But Sonic seemed genuine in his compliment, so Mario decided to return it. "Well... you look nice today as well."

"Oh please, tell me somethin' I _don't_ know," Sonic gloated, while Mario sighed and rolled his eyes. He should have expected Sonic to come back with a narcissistic remark.

The service was being held in a little hidden alcove in the garden, a place Sonic didn't even know existed until this very moment. Several Smashers had already gathered around a grave laid in the dirt, a heavy silence hanging in the air. Glancing around Sonic noticed two other graves that looked much older, instead of the light grey that Snake's was, these were more of a mossy green. A chill shot down his spine as he realized that other Smashers must have died before for there to be graves, and he was about to question Mario about it when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey guys," a new voice said. Sonic and Mario turned, and at first it didn't fully register who was in front of them. It took a moment for realization to strike Sonic, eyes widening in shock.

 _"Red?"_

"In the flesh," Red chuckled, clasping hands with his old friends. "Nice to see both of you."

"I'll say!" Sonic responded. "Long time no see! Dude, it's like you literally dropped off the face of the universe, I was worried y'know!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Red said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Things got a little hectic, I really had no time to myself."

"But have you ridden any bikes indoors recently?" Sonic asked with a cocky grin. Red sighed, looking unimpressed.

"You _do_ realize I've matured since then, right?"

"Dude, you're the same person who used to tell me an' Pit horror stories, like the one about the haunted song that allegedly kills people, or the one about the horrific Pokémon you found at the edge of that island... Cinnamon Island wasn't it?"

"Cinnabar Island," Red corrected.

"Right. So forgive me when I say that I'm havin' a hard time believin' that you've matured in the slightest since then."

"No, I really have!" Red exclaimed. "And you should probably know that your fly's down."

Sonic panicked for a moment, before remembering he wasn't wearing pants and folded his arms, shaking his head and chuckling. "Yeah, you've _totally_ matured."

"How are you back here?" Mario questioned, changing the topic. "It's not like Master Hand to have visitors..."

"He let us come back for today, and today only." Red explained.

"'Us'?" Mario asked, Red pointing behind him.

Sure enough, more former Smashers were filing into the garden, Popo pushing Nana's wheelchair over to Lucas, Ness and Toon Link, who were eager to introduce the Ice Climbers to the Villagers. Wolf stalked over to Bowser and Ganondorf, Fox and Falco keeping a watchful eye on him. Finally, an unfamiliar woman came to stand next to Red, arms folded across her chest with a look that suggested she was either uncomfortable being there, or really pissed off about something. Red noticed Mario and Sonic eyeing her curiously, and decided it would be a good idea to introduce her.

"Mario, Sonic, this is Sere-"

The woman shot a murderous glare in Red's direction, her eyes narrowing as Red sighed.

"Come on, they're not from our world..."

"I don't _care,_ " she snapped, her cold gaze flicking over to the plumber and hedgehog. If looks could kill they'd all be dead by this point. "I don't _trust_ them."

Red groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine," he mumbled. "Mario, Sonic, this is _Yvonne,"_ he turned to the woman - Yvonne apparently - and looked at her. "Well?"

"Fine," Yvonne stated, before spying something and wandering away. Once she was out of earshot Sonic exhaled and let out a nervous chuckle.

"That's some girlfriend you've got there, Red. Though I thought you weren't into the whole romance thing."

"I'm still not, and I never will be," Red replied, running a hand through his hair. "She's just someone who I'm traveling with in the Kalos region, and she just so happens to be Greninja's trainer." he gestured over to where Yvonne had ended up; petting Greninja on the head. Mario noticed how she looked much more relaxed, and wondered why she'd acted so cold towards them.

"Red," Mario started. "Is there a reason you began to call her by a different name?"

Red clicked his tongue, staring up into the sky. "Yeah... a pretty big reason actually," he nervously glanced over in Yvonne's direction, she was still with Greninja. "Okay, I'm not even lying when I say that she would kill me if she knew what I was about to tell you, so keep it a secret, okay?"

"Of course," Mario responded, Sonic nodding in agreement. Taking another peek over his shoulder and confirming that Yvonne was still busy, he began to speak.

"Her real name is Serena, and she's a former member of Team Rocket, a crime organization set in the Kanto and Johto regions. I met her during their raid of SilphCo. in Saffron City, but even back then I knew she wasn't a bad person, just misguided. She was the first member of Team Rocket I encountered that was concerned about the well-being of their Pokémon. I never saw her again until around a year ago, apparently once Team Rocket had disbanded she'd tried to get a proper trainers license, but because of her background she couldn't get one in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh or Orre regions. The only options left for her were Unova, Kalos or Alola, and she chose Kalos."

"So she needed to create a whole new identity for herself," Sonic commented, voice quiet. "That's rough."

"She's had a rough life, but at least she's been able to make good out of a bad situation." Red looked up at the sky, deep in thought. "So, where's Pit?" he finally asked, glancing around. "I wanna see how my old buddy's doing before the service starts."

"Uh..." Sonic looked around and found the angel standing between Palutena and Dark Pit; he was watching Samus with sombre eyes. "He's over there. Looks like he could use some cheering up."

"Perfect," Red clapped both of them on the shoulders. "I'll make sure to say goodbye before we leave. It was really nice to speak with you guys again though."

With that Red strode over to Pit, while Master Hand and Crazy Hand had finally arrived in the garden, clearly ready to start the service. The murmuring from the Smashers ceased and faces grew sombre as Master Hand floated to the front and center, and though he lacked facial features the Smashers could tell he was in grief as well.

"Good afternoon everybody," Master Hand began, emotion thick in his voice. "We are here today to remember our fellow Smasher, Solid Snake..."

/~/

The next hour was quite heart-wrenching. Master Hand gave a beautiful eulogy that made more than a few Smashers break down into teary messes again. Sonic even spied Yvonne wiping her eyes at one point. It ended with a moment of silence, each Smasher feeling the grief that radiated from each other. After a moment had passed they all quietly began to exit the garden, Sonic looking over his shoulder one last time. He noticed two Smashers, Sheik and Roy, staring down at the other two graves. He needed to remember to ask Mario about that.

While most of the Smashers began to retreat to their dorm rooms, the Primary Colour Crew instead headed back into the mansion to the living room, Sonic flopping down on the couch.

"Well that was... really depressing." Sonic sighed as Mario sat next to him, Pac-Man and Mega Man taking seats on the opposite couch. After a moment Mario frowned.

"Where did Red end up going?"

"He was with Lucas and Ness. He probably forgot he was supposed to say goodbye, but whatever. It was just nice t'see him again after all this time."

The four lapsed into silence again, none of them really feeling like doing much of anything. In reality, none of the Smashers could quite believe that Snake was really gone for good. It did bring Sonic's attention to something, murmuring, "I wonder if that's why he didn't wanna swap items with anybody. Do y'think maybe he knew he was gonna die?"

Mario frowned, biting his lip. "I suppose that would explain some of his behavior on the final day."

"Another thing," Sonic started, his voice taking a more serious tone. "There were two other graves that I noticed. Is there something you'd like to tell us?"

Mega Man and Pac-Man both looked at Mario, and Mario realized that he couldn't lie to them. "Hang on, I'll go get something," he stood, leaving the room momentarily before returning with a photo album in his hands, sitting back down on the couch and motioning for Mega Man and Pac-Man to join him and Sonic. When everyone had gathered around, he opened the album and began to flick through the photos. He stopped at the group photo that had been taken at the start of the Brawl tournament, staring at it for a moment before glaring at Sonic. "Seriously, Sonic? You were doing the peace sign over my head?"

Sonic just grinned, grabbing the album out of Mario's hands and taking a quick glance at the photo. Sure enough, he was behind Mario in the second row, a cocky smirk on his face as he knew Mario had no idea what was happening. Pit was to the left of him, trying to get a glimpse of Samus who was busy glaring daggers at Captain Falcon who had attempted to wrap an arm around her. To Sonic's right was Red, Pikachu perched on his shoulder as he gave Sonic a questioning look. In Sonic's mind it reminded him of a dysfunctional family photo. He chuckled as he handed the album back to Mario. "I can't believe it took you that long to notice I'd done that."

Mario rolled his eyes, flipping back a page and stopping at the group photo from Melee. It was a much smaller group, and no strange hijinxs seemed to be happening either. Mario pointed to a blond boy in the front row, standing next to Ness and the Ice Climbers, with what looked like a smaller, cuter Pikachu on his shoulder. "See that boy right there? That's Link, or Young Link as we all called him," he then pointed to boy that looked remarkably similar to Young Link, but much older. "And that is also Link. These two were known as the 'Hero of Time', though in reality it was the younger one who was the real hero. The older Link was simply Young Link grown up. Are you guys following?"

After receiving confirmation nods from his three companions, Mario continued. "Young Link... something in his own world disturbed him. I don't know what it was, none of us got an answer out of him. He never really talked to anyone besides the other children, though Zelda often attempted to speak with him."

"I don't see Zelda in this photo," Mega Man murmured, staring up at Mario in confusion.

"She's right here," Mario pointed to a blonde woman standing next to Peach, a sullen look on her face. "However, you three would know her as Sheik."

"Really?" Sonic questioned. "Huh, so that's why you guys seemed t'know her..."

"Exactly," Mario then cleared his throat. "However, we're getting a bit off topic. Now, Ze- _Sheik,"_ Mario corrected himself. "Sheik was in a relationship with Roy, and they both wanted to help Young Link in any way they could. From what I was able to gather, Roy went to have a conversation with Young Link, but apparently Young Link took it the wrong way." Mario frowned, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Young Link locked himself in his room, and refused to show up for any of his matches. Naturally Master Hand needed to get involved, as well as I since I am the leader of the Smashers. It wasn't until I got to Sheik did I realize where Young Link's mental state was. But..." Mario went silent, his eyes dulling as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Mar?" Sonic questioned, his brow furrowing in concern. Mega Man and Pac-Man wore similar expressions, as Mario blinked back tears he felt pressing at his eyes.

"Master Hand and I went to Young Link's room that night to talk to him. But it was too late. He'd... taken his own life."

For what was probably the first time in his life, Sonic was stunned speechless. He searched Mario's face for any sign that he wasn't serious, until it struck him that this wasn't a topic that people usually joked about. He was aware that Mega Man and Pac-Man had gone silent as well, Mega Man bug-eyed while Pac-Man's mouth was slightly agape.

"I couldn't save him," Mario continued quietly. "He'd lost so much blood... if only we'd shown up sooner, I could have saved him..."

It was clear that years later Mario was still blaming himself for Young Link's death. Sonic wanted to say something, he really did. But his mouth kept opening and closing, all the words he was thinking just weren't right for this type of situation. So he did the other obvious thing that most people would do and hugged him.

Mario froze, not expecting the sudden affection but in no way complaining about it. Mega Man and Pac-Man soon joined in on the hug, and the tears Mario felt from earlier sprang to his eyes again. He was so thankful in that moment to have such great friends.

"It's not your fault," Sonic mumbled as the hug was broken.

"I _know_ that, but I can't help but feel like I was partially responsible, " Mario sighed, wiping a few tears from his eyes. "But the reason you haven't heard this story is because Master Hand explicitly told us not to tell anyone. So you can't let anyone else you know this, alright? I could get into serious trouble, or worse, terminated."

"How can Master Hand terminate you if you're our leader?" Sonic questioned.

"Because being leader just means that I have authority over all of you if we happen to have another Subspace Incident, or in earlier years it meant that I knew who was showing up to the tournament. Outside of that though, I still need to follow the same rules all of you do. So it's a secret to everyone else, okay?"

Pac-Man mimed the gesture of closing an invisible zipper over his mouth, before giving a thumbs-up.

"I won't tell!" Mega Man piped up, while Sonic nodded in agreement.

"You're my second closest friend, I won't let anythin' happen to ya."

 _"Grazie,"_ Mario breathed, closing up the photo album and gently laying it on the table. For a moment the four just sat in silence, until Mega Man spoke.

"Can you two tell us about Snake? I'm sad I won't be able to meet him."

Exchanging a glance with Sonic, Mario nodded. "Of course we'll tell you about him..."

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** Yeah, you were right about Pac-Man showing up! I've seen a lot of cute fanart of the four of them too, it always makes me smile. Thank you for the review!

 **Guest:** I really wanted to incorporate things from both versions of the game into this story, especially since stages and a few modes are different. Everything deserves some love, in my opinion. Except Smash Tour. It hasn't earned my love, and it never will. Thank you for the review!

 **Mrs. Needlemouse:** As soon as I learned that piece of information, I knew I had to use it in the story. And I'll admit that I still call them 'The Squad' still on occasion. Thank you for the review! **  
**

**karygarcia21:** I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for the review!

* * *

 **AN: Alright, a lot of things happened in this chapter, so we're going to deconstruct it all right here. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.  
**

 **Since I unfortunately don't see Snake returning to Smash any time soon, I decided to have him pass on like he did in his own games canon. And if he somehow does return to Smash, well, I guess I'll think of something!  
**

 **The entire exchange with Red and Yvonne is basically a teaser for something else I'm working on. And that's all I'll say about it for now. I wanted the first chapter of it to be up by this point, but things happened and I just couldn't get it done in time. Meh.  
**

 **And finally, the last bit of the chapter is a reference to my oneshot _The Song Of Broken_ _Time._ (07/25/17 Update: It has since been deleted) I know that I bent Zelda canon a bit for those events to take place, but it still sort of works out considering it's possible that the Hero of Time's spirit could have made his way to Hyrule to pass on his knowledge to Twilight Princess Link. Or something. I'm thinking of rewriting that entire oneshot anyway, as I'm not happy with the final result. (Obviously, like I said above I deleted it)  
**

 **Anyway, that's enough of me rambling. I feel like you deserve some sort of award if you've made it this far. Thank you for reading, and shorter chapter next week.  
**

 **~Steel**


	28. Planning

_~Chapter Twenty-Eight: Planning~_

The tournament officially started a few days after Snake's funeral, and even though several Smashers were still in mourning they managed to use their emotional states to fuel their fighting drives. This seemed especially true with Samus, who hadn't lost a single battle so far in the many she had fought. Sonic would know, he was unluckily on the receiving end of one of her smackdowns, and she'd stormed off almost immediately after the battle was over. Naturally he and several other Smashers were a little worried, but they knew better than to prod Samus. Captain Falcon had learned that lesson the hard way.

Sonic meanwhile kept himself busy with training, something he hadn't done a lot of in the previous tournament. He'd never let it show, but he was disappointed in himself for his standings in Brawl, he hadn't won many matches and he desperately wanted to redeem himself this time around. It helped that he was actually taking the tournament a bit more seriously this time around instead of goofing off with Pit and Red. Plus, smacking around a Sandbag was a lot more fun than he'd originally given credit for, and it allowed him to bond with several other Smashers who frequented the training room often, like Marth, Link, Ryu and even the Wii Fit Trainers.

"You've gotten better at battling," Mario observed when Sonic had walked away victorious from a battle against King Dedede - someone he'd never been able to defeat during the previous tournament.

"Glad ya noticed!" Sonic replied. "I'm sure you've seen that I've been practicin'."

"I have," Mario confirmed. "So if we end up having a rematch, I'm expecting you to be a little tougher this time around."

"Oh, you know it!" Sonic exclaimed, flashing his rival a grin. Mario only chuckled and shook his head as Sonic bounced past him down the hall towards the training room, yelling something about how he was 'totally gonna kick his ass' this time around.

"Well, if that's what gets him motivated, I guess I really can't complain."

/~/

Later that day Sonic was telling a joke to Mega Man at the table during dinnertime when Master Hand floated in, conversation ceasing as the Smashers watched him curiously.

"Good evening Smashers," Master Hand greeted. "I trust you are all doing well on this fine evening?"

Several Smashers blinked, with the occasional, "I guess...?" thrown into the mix. Master Hand bobbed his fingers, seemingly considering something before continuing.

"I know... several of you are still mourning the loss of Solid Snake," At that statement Samus went rigid, more than one Smasher bracing themselves in case she went into an uncontrollable rage. "And I realize that some of your emotional states may not be in the right place. It is for these reasons that I have decided to hold a party of sorts, as a way for you to relax and have fun with your peers. Attendance is not mandatory, but I would be thrilled if I saw most of you there."

The dining hall immediately was abuzz with chatter at the news. Master Hand still wasn't done yet, as he motioned for silence once again.

"I have decided that the ballroom will be used for a main dance area, complete with music thanks to the speaker system. However, a drink station will be set up in the auditorium. Captain Falcon, would you be willing to be the bartender again?"

"Sure," Captain Falcon shrugged, amused at the confused faces of the newcomers. "What? I'm the only one here who has a license to serve alcohol!"

"I would also like to have music in the auditorium," Master Hand continued. "But I would prefer it to be live music. I ask you, do any of you know how to play any sort of musical instrument?"

Sonic felt Mario's eyes on him, and even though he would have preferred to chill in the ballroom, no one else was saying anything and he knew if he didn't say something Mario was probably going to. Clearing his throat, Sonic raised his hand. "I, uh, play the guitar..."

"He's not a bad singer either," Mario added, while Sonic shot him a glare.

"Would you be willing to provide live music in the auditorium, Sonic?" Master Hand questioned, and Sonic suddenly had over fifty pairs of eyes on him.

How could he really say no? "Sure..." he sighed, realizing he probably didn't have a choice. Master Hand seemed pleased with the answer, looking over his Smashers one final time.

"A week from now, next Saturday night. I hope most of you can attend."

With that Master Hand took his leave, the Smashers once again breaking out into conversation over who they were going to ask and what they were going to wear. Sometimes it was difficult to remember that a majority of them were adults with how they dissolved into conversation like this.

"Y'know, ya didn't need to announce to the whole mansion that I sing," Sonic pointed out to Mario that evening when the Primary Colour Crew got ready to play a round of Smash Run.

"Well, you weren't going to say anything, and I like your singing. You really should sing more."

Sonic felt his face got hot for a brief moment before he realized he could get even with Mario. Smirking, he laid an arm around his shoulder. "Are you flirting with me?"

"What?" Mario cried, jerking away as Sonic broke down into a fit of hysterics, Mega Man and Pac-Man glancing at each other in slight confusion. Pac-Man emitted a few low beeps, to which Mega Man merely shrugged.

"Oh man, I was expectin' you to freak out, but that was priceless!" Sonic snorted, Mario giving him a peeved look.

"Remind me never to compliment you again," he grumbled, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Sonic put on an exaggerated pouty face.

"Aw, c'mon! It was funny!"

As the two continued to banter, Mega Man turned to Pac-Man. "Maybe you _are_ on to something..." he whispered.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** I really wish I'd thought of that subplot! That hadn't even occurred to me, but _damn_ that would have been another good source of conflict. Anyway, some Smashers are taking Snake's death harder than others, for example in this chapter we see Samus isn't really taking it that well. Over time I'm sure they'll all heal, but you never truly get over someone dying. It just hurts less as time goes on. Thank you for the review! **  
**

**Guest:** Considering I had to look up the word 'uke' because I didn't know what it meant should answer your question. And I wasn't really going for that kind of dynamic in the first place, they've obviously always seen each others as equals otherwise they wouldn't be rivals, and that won't change no matter the relationship status. Anyway, I'm glad you like the story and thanks for the review.

 **Cool Guy:** Yep, I decided to have at least one chapter where serious events take place. Plus, I really wanted Mario and Sonic to bond a bit more with Mega Man and Pac-Man, and I also wanted to make it clear that the Smash Mansion isn't always a happy place where nothing bad can happen. Anyway, I'm glad that you've enjoyed some of my other stories, thank you for the review!


	29. The Super Smash Bros House Party

_~Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Super Smash Bros. House Party~  
_

When the party started, Mario was in the ballroom with most of the other Smashers, watching as several of them paired off into couples. Little Rose was dancing with her red shirted friend known as Michael, while Palutena had surprisingly paired off with Corrin, the latter having a deep blush on her face as Palutena twirled her on the dance floor, before dipping her and grinning mischievously. Meanwhile Corrin's male counterpart Kamui had tried to get Robyn to dance with him, but she'd paired off with her male counterpart, and by the looks of it was having a great time with him. Peach and Rosalina had begun to dance together, though Mario couldn't tell if it was just as friends or if there was something else going on between the two. Luigi was on the sidelines, chatting with Shulk, Marth and Fox. It made sense that they wouldn't want to dance with anyone else considering they were already in relationships. Link led Zelda in an elegant waltz while Pit watched the couples from the punch bowl, his mouth in a frown not seeing his crush anywhere on the dance floor.

At some point during the night though Mario got a bit bored just standing on the sidelines, and after telling Luigi he was leaving he headed downstairs to the auditorium where the bar was set up. As he got closer he could hear the sound of Sonic's guitar and faint vocals to go along with it. Entering the auditorium he found a few Smashers consisting of Samus, Cloud and Bayonetta engaged in a game of shots, Captain Falcon watching in amusement while Sonic sat in a chair near the makeshift bar, smiling as he saw Mario approaching.

"Welcome to the cave of forgotten souls," Sonic exclaimed when he'd finished his song, setting his guitar down and standing to greet Mario. "I think most people forgot we were down here. So what's goin' on up there?"

"Everyone's kind of pairing off with each other," Mario stated, sitting near where the shots game was happening. "Robin and Robyn are getting quite friendly with each other, Corrin's flustered by Palutena, and something's happening with Peach and Rosalina. There was also this annoying buzzing coming from the speaker system at the beginning, but Master Hand fixed it pretty quickly."

"What about Pit?" Sonic asked, folding his arms.

"Looking bit dejected since Samus is down here and I suspect he wanted to ask her to dance."

"I don't dance," Samus flatly replied, downing another shot while Cloud across from her looked like he was getting significantly tipsy. "At least not anymore anyway," she added quietly before looking Cloud straight in the eyes. "Admit defeat, pretty-boy. Nobody can outdrink me. _Nobody."_

"It's true," Captain Falcon spoke up. "I know from three tournaments of experience."

Cloud only blinked, unamused, before looking Samus in the eye and downing another shot. Samus raised an eyebrow, before they continued their game once again. Mario shook his head while Sonic went back to his seat, picking up his guitar. "So you just gonna hang out down here?" he questioned.

"I guess," Mario responded, dragging his chair over so he could sit near Sonic. "Mega Man and Pac-Man weren't at the party, I thought they'd be down here with you."

"Haven't see them since this morning. Though it doesn't surprise me much, Pac probably doesn't wanna dance with anyone but his wife, an' Megs is his best friend. So who knows, they're probably watchin' a movie or playin' Smash Run or something," Giving the strings an experimental strum, he turned his eyes toward Mario. "Got a request?"

"Not really."

Sonic shrugged. "Suit yourself then." With that he began to play something that Mario vaguely recognized, it sounded like something he heard on the radio back on Doppel. A few more songs later Sonic paused, getting some water from Captain Falcon before continuing with his playing. By this point Samus was doing shots with Bayonetta, Cloud having gotten too drunk to continue on. He slouched in a chair with his face in his hands, looking like he thoroughly regretting taking the challenge in the first place.

By the next time Sonic took another break Bayonetta had given up attempting to outdrink Samus, sauntering away with a stumbling Cloud in tow. Samus meanwhile still looked completely sober, and looked ready to ask Captain Falcon if he was willing to do a round with her when Palutena strutted in, a bright smile on her face.

"Not much of a party going on down here, huh?" she questioned, glancing at the four Smashers currently in the auditorium. Sonic shrugged.

"You just missed Cloud and Bayo by a few minutes."

"Where's Corrin?" Mario questioned. Palutena giggled.

"Oh, she's back upstairs. I think I'm going to ask her out on a date, we're getting along quite well!" she snickered, to Mario it sounded a bit sinister. "But we're not the only one's getting along tonight, not by a long shot. In fact, I just caught Robin and Robyn making out in the stairwell!"

Sonic - who had just taken a sip of water - spat it back into the glass while Mario didn't look too surprised, he'd seen how they were dancing with each other earlier in the night. Samus didn't seem to care, while Captain Falcon's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?" he asked, Palutena nodding her head.

"Yeah, there's some serious tongue action, and-"

"We don't need a play-by-play," Samus interrupted, looking unamused. Palutena pouted rather childishly before her bright smile returned.

"Well anyway, three guesses what they're probably doing in Robin's room tonight!" Palutena sang just a little too cheerfully.

"I feel sorry for you," Mario mumbled to Sonic, and it took Sonic a second to remember the fact that Robin's room was next to his. He quietly swore, before shaking his head and accepting fate.

"With any luck they'll be done by the time the party wraps up," he mumbled, downing the rest of his water and returning to his guitar. Samus meanwhile was eyeing Palutena, holding up a couple of shot glasses.

"Care for a round?" she asked, Palutena shaking her head.

"Nice try Sammy, but Pit already told me that nobody can outdrink you. Besides, I need to get back to Corrin," she locked eyes with Captain Falcon. "Just a water for me please."

Captain Falcon handed over the beverage, which Palutena swiftly downed and slid the glass back over to him. "Thanks Douglas," she sang in a sickeningly sweet voice before skipping away, Samus sighing in frustration over the fact that she lost a potential drinking buddy. She suddenly turned to Mario, Mario gulping under her icy gaze.

"What do you say, plumber-boy? Care for a round of shots with your old pal Samus?"

"You know I'm not big on alcohol," Mario replied dryly, aware that Sonic had quit playing his song in order to hear the conversation better. Samus chuckled.

"Oh, I get it. You're not up to the challenge."

"I-I never said that!" Mario stammered. Sonic rolled an eye up to his friends in amusement, Mario was falling right into Samus' trap.

"Come on, Mario. Let's see how well you can hold your liquor."

While Mario hesitated, he eventually sighed and nodded. "Fine, Samus."

Samus smirked as Captain Falcon slid two shot glasses over to them. Mario gulped as he stared into his; well aware that his heartbeat had started to increase. He was positive everyone in the room could hear it.

"Ready?" Samus asked. Mario took a deep breath, before nodding.

"Ready."

The glasses were tilted back, and the game began.

/~/

Sonic knew Mario wouldn't be able to hold much liquor the moment he started. From the way he'd immediately balked at the taste, it wasn't surprising that a few shots in he'd excused himself, Sonic figuring he'd gone someplace to throw up. His suspicions were confirmed when he stumbled back in, face pale. Captain Falcon had offered him a glass of water while Samus looked guilty.

"Geez, didn't mean to make you sick," she apologized, Mario resting his head on the cool tabletop and attempting to wave his hand dismissively. This lead to the other _wonderful_ side effect of alcohol; being drunk. Sonic knew it was going to happen, and while a drunken Mario was incredibly amusing due to the fact that he never stopped talking, the downside was that _he never stopped talking._ Whatever came to his mind he just spoke, whether it be important or mundane, which while funny at first soon became a bit of an annoyance. Thankfully Crazy Hand had floated in at some point to announce rather loudly that they needed to start cleaning up, which was good news as it was late and Sonic was feeling a bit sleepy.

"When Mario is cohesive, tell him I'm sorry. I didn't realize alcohol would have that sort of an impact on him." Samus apologized again; despite the fact that she had consumed quite a bit of liquor that night she seemingly hadn't been impacted by any of it. Sonic wondered if the Chozo blood and Metroid DNA coursing through her veins had something to do with it.

"I'll make sure t'let him know." Sonic assured, Samus giving a curt nod.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

She sauntered out of the auditorium, leaving Sonic alone with a swaying Mario and Captain Falcon who began to collect the dirty glasses and proceed to place them into racks to send back to the kitchen to be cleaned. Sonic unplugged his guitar from it's amp, placing both of them back into their respective cases and turning to Captain Falcon.

"Can you make sure he won't go anywhere? I need to get my stuff back to my room, an' then I'm coming back for him."

"Sure," Captain Falcon said nonchalantly, Sonic picking up the cases and wandering out of the auditorium. By the sounds of it the party upstairs had ceased as well, and as he stepped out into the cool night he noticed a few Smashers lingering outside the dorms, including Corrin and Palutena sharing a kiss goodnight. Apparently Palutena was getting that date with the Nohrian/Hoshidan princess.

Opening the door to the dorms Sonic made his way down the hall to his room, dropping his things off and heading back to the auditorium where Mario and Captain Falcon still were. As soon as Sonic re-entered the auditorium Captain Falcon looked up at him with interest.

"You making sure he makes it back to his room okay?" the racer questioned, while Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, might as well. That's what friends do, right?"

Captain Falcon nodded. "Yeah, I guess so," his eyes flicked to Mario, he was sleeping on the bar table. "You know, if you like him, you should probably tell him," Captain Falcon advised, Sonic's eyes widening as he wondered how Captain Falcon could have possibly figured out that he had a crush on Mario. "If you're afraid of rejection, don't be. You two have a strong bond, something like that shouldn't change anything."

"How didja know?" Sonic asked, while Captain Falcon shrugged.

"You just kinda... pick up on these things when you've been around as long as I have. You're eighteen, and I remember being that age with a crush. Plus, I've seen the way you look at him sometimes. Sure, I may have gained a reputation as being a skirt chaser around here, but I genuinely want to help if I can."

With that Captain Falcon began to stack the racks onto a cart, and Sonic figured it was a good time to get to bed. Poking Mario in the arm, he whispered, "Hey, time to get up now."

Mario made a noise of protest, but opened his heavy eyelids to glare at Sonic. He mumbled something in what Sonic was assuming to be Italian before resting his head on the cool table top again. Sonic heaved a sigh and forcefully dragged Mario to his feet, something the plumber surprisingly didn't object to.

"C'mon, Drunky McDrunkface. Let's get you to your room," he turned to Captain Falcon. "See you tomorrow."

Captain Falcon nodded. "Take care you two."

Wandering the very short distance from the auditorium to the back door proved to be a lot more difficult than Sonic anticipated, thanks to Mario constantly stumbling and forcing them to walk at a snails pace. It drove Sonic completely batty, but he couldn't leave Mario to fend for himself. It would be against his character if he did, so he just quietly accepted his fate that he was going to be here for quite some time.

Eventually, the duo made their way outside, Sonic shivering in the night air. The previous huddle of Smashers that had been loitering outside had all headed in, and while Sonic was grateful that he wouldn't have to maneuver around them, it gave off an eerie feeling of being alone. His footsteps seemed accentuated, and he tried to shake off the feeling that he was being watched.

As Sonic made his way to the door of the dorms with Mario, he heard a twig snap from somewhere off in the distance. He froze, ears swiveling as he attempted to pick up the sound again. His heartbeat accelerated as he realized something was behind him, and he mentally prepared a strategy in his mind if it was a potentially dangerous creature.

He turned, and the two figures behind him jumped slightly in shock over the sudden movement. Squinting, Sonic realized that he _recognized_ those two figures, and relaxed slightly as they came into view.

"Sheik? Roy? What are you two doin' up so late?"

"We could ask you the same question," Sheik responded in a frosty tone. Roy cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably.

"We were just talking," Roy replied, and Sonic remembered how Mario had said that during Melee the two had dated. Perhaps they were trying to rekindle the love they'd once had?

"Is he drunk?" Sheik asked, nodding towards Mario. Sonic let out an uncomfortable chuckle, before nodding his head.

"Yeah, Samus kinda challenged him to a drinking game. He lost."

"No kidding. Nobody can outdrink Samus," Roy murmured, before opening the door to the dormitories. "Here, get inside. Me and Sheik aren't done talking yet."

"Thanks," Sonic murmured as he stepped inside, the door swinging shut behind him and Mario. He sighed as he gazed at his drunken friend. "Almost there buddy, almost there."

A few minutes later Sonic was standing outside Mario's room, relieved that they'd finally made it. Sighing in relief, he turned to Mario. "Okay, where's your key?" he asked, Mario blinking a few times before shaking his head.

"I...won' tell you..." he mumbled, while Sonic sighed in exasperation.

"C'mon Mar, you need to get some rest," Sonic lightly argued, while Mario struggled in Sonic's grasp.

"No..." he mumbled, attempting to swing a punch at Sonic before he passed out in his arms. Sonic let out a noise of aggravation, realizing he couldn't get into Mario's room since he had no idea where Mario kept his key. Meaning there was only one option left.

"Well, looks like you're stayin' with me tonight, Drunky McDrunkface!" Sonic cheerfully said to Mario, who couldn't hear him but he felt like saying it anyway. With a bit of difficulty, he managed to make it down the hallway to his room, and just as he was unlocking his door Robin's flew open, Robyn nervously peeking out into the hallway before freezing as she caught sight of Sonic.

"Um... it's not... what it looks like..." she stammered, Robin appearing behind her and freezing as well.

"You realize I'm not gonna tell, right?" Sonic stated, placing his free hand on his hip. "As long as Master Hand doesn't catch you you're pretty much good."

"O-Oh, okay..." Robyn sighed, a look of relief washing over her face. She gazed at the passed-out Mario in confusion. "But what are you doing?"

"He's drunk and wouldn't tell me where his key was," Sonic explained, unlocking the door and letting it swing open. "He needs someplace to stay, so he may as well stay with me."

"A good plan," Robin commented, before turning to his female counterpart. "You sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" he asked her as Sonic entered his room and closed it behind him.

 _'I hope she says no.'_ Sonic thought as he dragged Mario over to his bed and lay him down on it. ''C _ause I don't wanna hafta listen to it all night.'_

Grabbing a spare blanket, Sonic tossed it over Mario before grabbing a pillow and another blanket for himself. He'd be sleeping in the chair tonight, which wasn't that big of a deal. He'd fallen asleep in much more uncomfortable areas than a chair.

"Well, night Mar," he whispered as he took a final glance at Mario before shutting his eyes, soon falling into a state of slumber.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** Hopefully you think their relationship is getting interesting in a good way! And it's only going to get more interesting from here on out. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Guest:** I actually cut a huge chunk of that chapter out because the more I looked at it, the more I realized how OOC Mario and Sonic were acting. So it resulted in a filler chapter, but still somewhat important as we needed a lead-up into the party, and I also got to show that Sonic's taking his training a lot more seriously. Thank you for the review!

* * *

 **AN: *takes long sip of tea* I know that some people portray the Robins as siblings. I'm not one of those people. Also, yes, I do have reasons for why I paired off certain characters with each other. I didn't just pull names out of a hat. But that's a story for another day. Anyway, I don't think you guys will want to miss next chapter, big things are happening! Thank you all for reading!  
**

 **~Steel**


	30. Awkward Confession

**AN: I really should have put this at the beginning of last chapter, but this is the point in the story where things start to get a bit suggestive, so if any of you are uncomfortable with that you may want to proceed with caution going into this final stretch of the story. Now that that's out of the way, enjoy the chapter!  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Thirty: Awkward Confession~_

The first thing that registered to Mario when he woke up was that it was far too bright. Groaning, he tried to bury his face in the pillow but the light managed to get through anyway.

He'd had _way_ too much to drink the previous night, and the pounding headache he had proved he was suffering from a nasty hangover. He groggily opened his eyes and for a moment his heart skipped a beat as he didn't recognize the room he was in. It only lasted for a second though when he realized he was in Sonic's room. Right... he recalled something about not telling Sonic where his key was, then he must have passed out.

The real question was where Sonic was. A quick scan around the room confirmed that he was nowhere to be seen, and he wasn't in the bathroom since the door was open. Propping himself up against the headboard Mario rubbed his temples, hat askew on his head.

Just then the door opened and Sonic waltzed in carrying two trays of food, grinning when he spied Mario was up. Kicking the door shut he sauntered over and set one of the trays down in front of Mario.

"Good morning, Drunky McDrunkface!" Sonic cheerfully exclaimed, sitting cross-legged at the other side of the bed with his own tray. "I kinda figured you wouldn't wanna get outta bed, so I brought breakfast to you! And lemme tell ya, it was difficult t'get a couple of trays an' sneak 'em out here, especially when Kirbs, Yoshi and Dedede are hungry," he chuckled, ripping off a piece of hashbrown and popping it in his mouth. "An', since I know you probably have a killer headache, there are a couple of pills to help you through it."

 _"Grazie,"_ Mario mumbled, grateful for Sonic's kindness but not feeling particularly hungry. He did take the pills however and forced himself to eat a piece of toast, chewing slowly and trying not to focus on the throbbing in his head. "I'm not living this down, am I?"

"Nooope!" Sonic sang, popping the 'P'. "Are you kidding? I'd never let you forget somethin' like that. At one point, you wouldn't stop talkin' about how toasters toasted toast. Which is incorrect by the way, as toasters toast _bread."_

"I'm glad I was a source of entertainment," Mario muttered sarcastically, starting on his hashbrown. "Remind me to never accept any challenge from Samus ever again."

"Why would I do that? It's way too much fun watchin' you make an idiot out of yourself. Man, why didn't anyone record any of it?"

"We'll see who's laughing when it's you experiencing it," Mario replied, pushing his half-eaten breakfast away and feeling somewhat sick again. Sonic frowned, dropping his jokey demeanor.

"Headache still botherin' you?" he asked in a softer tone. When Mario nodded, Sonic gave him a small smile. "The pills should kick in soon, shouldn't be that much longer. And Samus also says she's sorry."

"Where did you sleep?" Mario questioned, changing the topic.

"The chair," Sonic responded, tilting his head towards it. "Surprisingly comfortable too, an' as we all know I'm not very tall so I just kinda... curled up and fell asleep," he eyed Mario's tray of food. "Are you gonna finish that?"

"No, you can have the rest of it," Mario replied, pushing the tray closer to Sonic. Sonic's eyes lit up as he quickly downed the rest of the food, Mario chuckling lightly. Another thing they had in common, they both had large appetites. Sonic briefly left the room in order to return the trays to the kitchen to be washed. By the time he'd returned the pills were beginning to work their magic, and Mario breathed a sigh of relief as he felt the pounding in his head reduce in intensity.

"I need to brush my teeth," Mario suddenly realized, Sonic snorting at the somewhat random revelation.

"If you don't wanna go back t'your room, I have a spare one you can use," Sonic offered. "Never been opened or anythin'!"

Mario hesitated for a moment, before nodding. "If you're okay with it..."

"Dude, I wouldn't have said anythin' if I wasn't," Sonic shot back. Mario rolled his eyes and shakily stood, steadying himself before stumbling to the bathroom.

"Top drawer by the door!" Sonic called after him, before once again taking a seat cross-legged on his bed. A few minutes later Mario emerged and stood in the middle of the room, not knowing if he should stay or go.

"Don't just stand there Mar, sit back down! I'm not lettin' you leave 'til I know your headache is gone."

"It's getting better..." Mario tried, but it was clear that Sonic wasn't buying it as he grabbed his arm and dragged him down onto the bed next to him.

"Stop being stubborn an' stay here awhile! It's not like any of us have anything t'do today, it's Sunday!"

Mario hated to admit that Sonic had a point. Sighing Mario made himself comfortable on the bed and rested against the headboard again, before speaking.

"You're a good friend, you know?" Mario murmured, Sonic turning his head towards him. "I'm glad... that we were mature enough to realize that hating each other wasn't going to fix or solve anything. Sure, we may snark, but... thank you for being one of my closest friends. You mean a lot to me."

Sonic didn't know how to respond to that. He just kept staring at Mario with wide eyes not knowing what to say or do. He was suddenly aware at how close their faces were to each other, and with Captain Falcon's words ringing in his ears he did something incredibly stupid. In a single motion he leaned in, tilted his head slightly and pressed his lips against Mario's.

Mario froze upon feeling Sonic's lips on his own, his heartbeat accelerating and feeling heat rush to his cheeks, but before he had a chance to react past that Sonic had violently pulled away, eyes wide with horror and covering his mouth as he seemed to come to terms with what he'd just done. He immediately scrambled to his feet, getting as far away from Mario as possible.

Neither one of them spoke, Mario searching Sonic's face in confusion while the latter's muzzle had gone beet red in embarrassment and shame, before muttering a profanity under his breath.

"Sonic...?" Mario questioned, being cautious with his wording. "What was that?"

"Oh, don't act like an idiot! You damn well know what that was!" Sonic's voice was laced with anger, though Mario knew Sonic wasn't mad with him. He suspected he was mad at himself for pulling an impulsive stunt. "Go. I don't wanna see you right now."

"No," Mario stood his ground, marching forward and placing his hands on Sonic's shoulders. "We're going to discuss this like mature adults. Now I want you to answer me seriously. What was that?"

Sonic struggled in Mario's grasp, he desperately wanted to escape, run from the problem, but he couldn't. Sighing he lowered his gaze to the floor. "It was a kiss... 'cause I have feelings for you." he confessed rather pathetically, sounding defeated.

Mario nodded slowly, digesting what Sonic was saying. "And how long have you had these feelings?"

"Is that really all you hafta say?" Sonic questioned, his turn to look confused. "Why aren't you freaked out by this?"

"Because I want to hear what you have to say," Mario seriously stated. Sonic blinked multiple times before sighing and staring up at the ceiling.

"I figured it out after we built the blanket fort in Vancouver, though I'm sure I've liked you a lot longer," he couldn't help but quietly snicker at Mario's shocked face. "Yeah, yeah, it's been a long time, I know."

"I'll say," Mario whispered, before clearing his throat. "And... is there a reason why you have these feelings for me?"

Sonic hesitated for a moment before clicking his tongue. "...Damn your kindness," was all he said, figuring that was enough for Mario to figure out.

"Wow," Mario breathed, letting go of Sonic's shoulders. "...I really don't know what to say. You're the last person I'd expect to have feelings for me."

"Touché," Sonic muttered, sitting back down on his bed and looking down at the floor which had suddenly become very interesting. "Are we still friends?"

"Sonic, it's not like we had a one-night stand. Of course we're still friends."

Sonic hummed. "So what happens now?" he asked, not really knowing how to proceed. Mario took a deep breath, contemplating the answer. It was difficult to think when it was first thing in the morning and you had a hangover.

"I don't know," he carefully stated, trying to find the right words for the situation. "But I think we both have some things that we need to think over. I'm sorry, but I need to go."

"Mario..." Sonic tried, mildly startling the plumber in question as Sonic hadn't used his full name in quite some time. He shook his head.

"I'll... speak with you later Sonic. I promise."

With that Mario left the room, Sonic groaning and burying his face in his hands the moment the door clicked shut. This wasn't how he'd wanted to start his Sunday morning, not in the slightest. Once again he'd messed up, and from the sounds of it Mario didn't return his affections. Not that he'd ever expected him to in the first place, but their friendship was probably on rocky waters now thanks to his impulsiveness.

Meanwhile as Mario wandered down the hallway to his room, his thoughts ran rampant with the bombshell that had been dropped. In a matter of minutes he'd been kissed and had someone confess their feelings to him. He wasn't sure what he was more confused about, the fact that Sonic had feelings for him in the first place, or the fact that he came to the sudden revelation that he'd just had his first proper kiss. The entire situation had him a bit spooked, especially since he wasn't sure of his own feelings. He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel _something_ in that kiss.

And on top of all of that, he still had a headache.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** The reason Mario gave into peer pressure so easily was because he's very competitive, chances were if Samus hadn't said he wasn't up for the challenge he wouldn't have gone for it in the first place. Funnily enough the drunken Mario scene was one of the first scenes I wrote for this story, except Mario got drunk under different circumstances and the bar was set up in the ballroom instead of the auditorium. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Guest:** I know that it's more common to call the female Corrin 'Kamui', but I switched things up a bit. I felt Corrin suited her better than Kamui. *shrugs* Thanks for the review!


	31. Detective Mega Man is on the Case!

_~Chapter Thirty-One: Detective Mega Man is On the Case!~_

Things weren't going back to normal in the days that followed. Both Mario and Sonic were trying to avoid the other, Sonic taking to secluding himself in the training room destroying Sandbag after Sandbag while Mario took to spending more time in the infirmary, leaving several Smashers confused as to what was going on between the two of them. Last they knew the two were friends, so what had caused this sudden rift and attitude change? Mega Man wanted to know - the Primary Colour Crew had become a miserable place with Mario and Sonic barely communicating. Even worse was that Sonic outright refused to give them an answer regarding his attitude shift, just mumbling something under his breath and continued to beat the living hell out of a Sandbag. Mega Man and Pac-Man didn't even bother to go to Mario after that, as they had a sneaking suspicion that his response would be the same.

Of course, this led them to question a few Smashers who had last seen them together. They hadn't been at the party, but asking around a bit led them to discover that they'd been in the auditorium with Captain Falcon. Maybe he would know something?

With Pac-Man in tow, Mega Man set out to find Captain Falcon. He wasn't too difficult to find - he was in the garage polishing the Blue Falcon while humming the Mute City theme. He ceased both upon seeing Mega Man and Pac-Man approaching, and throwing the rag he was using into the bucket filled with soapy water he grinned at the duo of friends.

"Let me guess, you need something repaired Mega Man?"

"No Captain Falcon, you were one of the last people who saw Mario and Sonic together. We were wondering if you knew anything about why they're acting funny around each other now."

Captain Falcon sighed, folding his arms and looking guilty. "Yeah, I think I might know the reason. Since I'm guessing it won't stay a secret around the mansion for much longer, Sonic has a crush on Mario. Did you two know that, you're close friends with them."

Pac-Man emitted a few beeps, Mega Man nodding his head in agreement. "We sort of had it figured out," he responded.

"Well, I told Sonic that he shouldn't be afraid of rejection. He probably made a move on Mario and from the way they're acting now, it probably went badly," he folded his arms, deep in thought. "Which is really weird, because I wouldn't think that just confessing feelings would lead to avoidance."

"Maybe something else happened?" Mega Man tried, and Captain Falcon lowered his head in consideration before realization dawned on him.

"You're probably right," he finally said. "I wonder if maybe Sonic took his advances a little too far."

Pac-Man beeped once again, Mega Man translating as, "That sounds like something Sonic would do."

"Who knows, maybe he tried to kiss him or something. That would lead to awkwardness or avoidance."

"I think we need to go find Mario!" Mega Man exclaimed. "We need to find out what he thinks about all of this!"

"I'd love to help you two, but I need to finish up here," Captain Falcon exclaimed, pointing towards the Blue Falcon. "But I'm sure I'll find out what happened eventually."

"You will!" Mega Man chirped, darting away with Pac-Man who waved before heading off after his friend. Captain Falcon chuckled, before returning to his previous task.

/~/

Mario wasn't doing so well. Ever since the kiss happened he couldn't stop thinking about Sonic and what his exact feelings were. He honestly had no clue anymore, and decided to do something that would most likely take his mind off of things. Which is how he found himself in his current position, doing yoga with a handful of other Smashers in the gym. He was told that yoga was meant to relax you, but he was having a difficult time holding the position Mr. Fit was flawlessly pulling off. At least he wasn't the only one having a hard time, Kirby couldn't get his stubby arms over his head, while Link had nearly fallen over a couple of times. On the other side of the gym, Mr. Fit's wife, Mrs. Fit, was leading the ladies through their exercises.

"It's like Frederick's Fantastical Fitness Hour all over again," Robin muttered from next to Mario, Mario gazing up at the tactician with interest.

"Something you had to do back in your world I take it?" he asked, while Robin nodded.

"Yep, and even though it kept us all in shape for the battles ahead, it sure was a pain to go through."

"...And relax," Mr. Fit instructed, before smiling at the group. "That's all for today, but I hope you'll join me again."

Mario sighed and glanced around the gym hoping to be able to find a Smasher willing to spend time with him. But Robin seemed busy with Robyn who had wandered over, Kirby waddled out of the room the moment he was allowed to do so, and even Mr. Fit was gone.

"Mario!"

Mario turned at the sound of his name and found Mega Man and Pac-Man wandering towards him. He inwardly winced, knowing he'd been neglecting them recently.

"Hi guys..."

Pac-Man began to speak, catching Mario off guard, and turned to Mega Man for translation.

"Pac-Man wants to know if Sonic went too far in his advancements." Mega Man stated almost innocently, causing Mario to recoil slightly in shock.

"H-How did you two know about..."

"Well, since you and Sonic seemed to be avoiding each other, we figured there had to be a reason behind it. So we asked around and found out from Captain Falcon that he'd given Sonic some advice."

Mario's eyes widened at that statement, he'd had no idea that Captain Falcon had been involved with this at all.

"Plus, we kinda figured out all on our own that Sonic had a crush on you." Mega Man continued. Mario bit his tongue, how many other Smashers had known before he had? Was he seriously that blind to Sonic's affections?

"So did he?" Mega Man asked again, and Mario sighed, taking off his cap and running a hand through his hair.

"He... he kissed me," Mario confessed. "And... I've been really confused about the whole thing ever since."

Pac-Man began to speak, Mario turning towards Mega Man for a translation.

"Pac-Man wants to know if you have feelings for Sonic."

"I..." Mario began, before stopping and biting his bottom lip. "I don't know how I feel," he admitted quietly. "One one hand I can't stop thinking about him, and on the other I can't stop thinking about the fact that there's an age gap between us and the fact that we're both different species. The whole situation has me a bit spooked, honestly."

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me."

The trio of friends turned at the sound of the new voice, noticing Samus standing behind them with her arms folded across her chest. "Since when have you been scared about _anything_ , Mario? You're always charging into danger without a second thought, so what's the difference here?"

"I wasn't thinking about entering a relationship with my former rival who's eight years younger than me and an entirely different species?"

Samus snorted, rolling her eyes. "As if you're not the first person to do any of those things. Do you have any idea about the age gap between Corrin and Palutena? And I certainly don't hear anyone complaining about Kirby and Jigglypuff not being the same species. I myself have been infused with the DNA of the Chozo and Metroids, and if I'm not mistaken, a literal angel who's almost two centuries old has a crush on me."

"B-But..." Mario stammered, before quieting at Samus' murderous gaze.

"Answer me this one question," she demanded. "Did you feel anything in that kiss?"

Mega Man and Pac-Man turned towards Mario, waiting for his answer. Mario was silent for several moments before he gulped.

" _Sì,_ " he admitted quietly, his eyes falling to the floor.

"Well then, you have your answer. And you better do something about it real soon, because even though he's not saying anything he's probably fucking heartbroken! In fact, from the way he's been abusing the Sandbags, I'd say he's imagining they're all you!"

"I'll go... speak with him." Mario mumbled, taking a deep breath before exiting the gym. Samus shook her head when he'd left, turning towards Mega Man and Pac-Man.

"You know, it was so much easier when there were just twelve of us," she muttered. "Ever since Melee the mansion has been like a fucking soap opera," Clicking her tongue she eyed the best friends. "So... you two up for Smash Run?"

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** I guess we'll just have to see where the story goes! Who knows what's gonna happen with Sonic and Mario next chapter? Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Inuyasha572:** Yep, Sonic finally confessed! But who knows what's going to happen next chapter? I guess we'll just have to find out! Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Cool Guy:** Yeah, Sonic didn't really intend to confess his feelings, but he wasn't really thinking. As for whether this was Sonic's first kiss or not... no, no it's not. I won't say who it was with, but looking back on an earlier chapter may give you a hint as to who it was. :) As for other pairings, some of them will get a mention later on, and I've purposely left doors open so that if I want to write a story about anyone else I have a starting point. After all, Sonic and Mario are just two characters out of a large cast. Who knows what the other Smashers were doing while their story unfolded? Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **The Reviewer 2.0: ** Yeah, that's the thing about Sonic, he doesn't always think before he acts. And right there is a perfect example of his impulsiveness at play, what is arguably his most fatal flaw. And yeah, Mario's was very confused about the whole situation. He seems to have gotten a better grasp on the situation now that he's had some time to think about it, but next chapter will certainly be interesting, that's for sure! Thank you for the review!


	32. Official

_~Chapter Thirty-Two: Official~_

 _'Idiot.'_

Another Sandbag met it's end thanks to a headful of Sonic's quills. Snarling, he eyed it distastefully before kicking it away and grabbing another one, all while toxic, scathing thoughts ran through his mind.

What in the name of Dark Gaia was _wrong_ with him? Why was he always making rash decisions and not thinking things through first? He knew his actions would always have bad consequences, but he never learned, did he? Now he had a potentially ruined friendship, and that stung the most. He honestly didn't care if Mario didn't return his feelings, he missed his friend. He missed their constant back and forth, Mario's voice of reason, the way they could go from laughing and joking to dead serious. Aside from Tails, Mario was the closest friend he had.

All of that was probably gone now. All because he couldn't keep his impulsiveness in check.

 _'Dammit.'_

From the door, Mario watched Sonic silently, feeling guilty as he watched him violently rip apart another Sandbag, it's innards sprinkling onto the mats below. It stung knowing that he was partially the reason that Sonic was acting like this, and taking a deep breath he stepped into the training room.

Sonic could hear footsteps behind him, but he didn't bother checking to see who it was. As anyone who had come into the training room for the past few days would know, talking to him was a bad idea. It wasn't until he felt a hand on his shoulder did he freeze, gulping as he knew who it was and why they were there.

"Sonic?" Mario began quietly. "Can we talk?"

Sonic remained silent for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, sure." he replied, his tone clipped. Avoiding eye contact he went to sit on one of the benches, Mario following and sitting down next to him.

"So I've been... thinking..." Mario started, before Sonic raised a hand.

"Mario, save me the speech, will ya? Fine, you don't feel the same way about me. I can live with that. What I can't live with is the fact that everythin' is all weird between us now! Sure, we can't act as if that kiss never happened, but I... I just want things to go back to normal between us," he sighed, sounding defeated. "I just want my friend back..." he added in a whisper.

Mario let Sonic rant, taking his words in. Finally he sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't think things will be able to go back to normal between us."

"'Cause I clearly didn't know that already!" Sonic sarcastically replied, and he looked ready to yell some more until Mario put up his hand to stop him.

"Let me finish," he stated. "Now, things won't be able to return to normal because after thinking about it for awhile... I realize that I have feelings for you too."

Sonic blinked, anger melting away and letting the sentence replay in his head multiple times in order to make sure he'd heard Mario correctly. "You do?" he questioned dumbly, in a bit of shock.

"I can't deny that at some point I developed romantic feelings for you. Our kiss just helped me realize it faster." Mario quietly explained.

"Oh," was Sonic's only response. The two lapsed into silence, not knowing where to steer this somewhat awkward conversation. Eventually it was Mario who broke the silence, sighing and taking off his hat, running a hand through his hair.

"Do you want a relationship?" he asked, Sonic being somewhat taken aback by the question.

"What?"

"A relationship. Do you want one?"

Sonic could only shrug. "I dunno. I didn't think I'd get this far honestly," he gazed at Mario curiously. "Why, do you?"

"Only if you do," he responded.

Sonic hesitated, a million thoughts running through his head. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, now that he had confirmation that Mario did in fact return his feelings... he felt conflicted. On one hand he wanted a relationship, but on the other hand he didn't want to pull yet another impulsive stunt and have the entire thing end in disaster. It was like having shoulder angels, which made Sonic think of Pit and Dark Pit momentarily before shoving that thought out of his head.

This was the danger of starting romantic relationships with friends. If it ended, especially if it ended badly, there was always the risk that you'd lose your friendship with that person forever. And while Sonic didn't want to lose the friendship they'd so painstakingly built together... his impulsive side wanted to jump straight into the danger zone without a second thought and see where it went. In the end the latter won the fight as it usually did, and mind made up he looked Mario in the eyes.

"Let's do it then," he declared. "Let's see where this ends up goin'."

"Positive?" Mario asked.

"Positive," Sonic replied with confidence.

"What about our rivalry?"

Sonic pondered on the question for a moment before shrugging. "Just 'cause we're in a relationship doesn't mean we can't have some friendly competition once in awhile."

"Alright," Mario breathed, pondering on what to say next. "So what should we do now?"

"We should probably tell our friends," Sonic started, before smirking mischievously. "But before we do... there's somethin' I wanna do first now that we're 'official' so to speak."

Before Mario had a chance to react Sonic had pulled him into a kiss, and while he stiffened for a moment at the sudden contact he eventually relaxed into it, leaning in a bit closer and feeling Sonic's hands clasp behind his neck. After a moment they broke, glancing at each other with uncertainty before going in again, noses bumping against each other as they did so.

"Wow," was all Mario managed to say, a bit dazed and out of breath when they'd pulled away.

Sonic snickered, clearly pleased with himself that he'd manged to render Mario speechless.

"An' I think that-" Sonic started a bit smugly. "-should be considered our first kiss."

/~/

"Okay, uh, we've got somethin' to tell you guys."

The small group consisting of Luigi, Peach, Pit, Mega Man and Pac-Man looked at Mario and Sonic; the former three in confusion while the latter two had a hunch of what was about to happen.

"All we ask is that you keep an open mind," Mario continued where Sonic left off. He glanced over at Sonic who gave a small nod, and Mario took a deep breath. "So me and Sonic... we're together now."

No one said anything for a moment, until Peach stifled a giggle.

"Well it's about time!" she exclaimed sweetly, causing everyone to look at her in shock.

"Wait... you knew?" Sonic asked while Peach nodded.

"Oh, I've known about your crush since last tournament," Peach casually stated, Sonic blinking multiple times trying to wrap his mind around that fact.

"But I wasn't even aware of my feelings last tournament! How did you figure it out?"

Peach only grinned, but said nothing more. Shaking his head Sonic turned to Mega Man and Pac-Man. "What about you two?"

"We had a hunch..." Mega Man stated, while Pac-Man nodded. Blinking, Sonic turned to Pit.

"You?"

"I didn't know!" Pit responded cheerfully, before clapping his hands. "But if you two are a couple, that means that you can team up and take down all of the baddies!" he mimicked the action of fighting off several enemies, causing Sonic to chuckle at Pit's childish behavior.

Mario turned his attention towards Luigi, who had remained silent throughout the whole ordeal.

"Bro?" he questioned, Luigi glancing over at him. "Um... what do you think about this whole thing?"

"Are you happy?" Luigi questioned, Sonic glancing over and quirking an eyeridge.

"Yeah... I think we're going to be happy." Mario replied, to which Luigi smiled.

"Then that's all that matters bro! As long as you're happy, I'm happy!" he turned to Sonic, eyes narrowed. "If you do anything to hurt my bro though, you're going to hear it from me!"

"Noted," Sonic gulped, looking at the faces of their friends and family. "So, everyone is cool with this?"

"Of course we are!" Peach sang, before getting up and dusting off her skirt. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with Rosalina. I'll see you all later!"

As soon as Peach skipped out of the room, Mega Man and Pac-Man stood to leave as well, Pac-Man giving them a thumbs-up while Mega Man grinned broadly. Luigi was the next to go, nodding at his brother in reassurance that he was fine with their relationship. Pit was the last to go, waving goodbye and leaving the new couple alone in the room together.

"That went... better than I expected it to." Mario stated, Sonic nodding.

"Yeah, I was expectin' at least one of 'em to disapprove, so the fact that they're all cool with it is great actually," he sighed, running a hand through his quills. "That still leaves my friends though... but I guess I'll worry 'bout that later. An' I'll need to tell Red at some point, that is if Pit doesn't do it first."

"I need to tell my parents," Mario murmured. "Is there anyone else that should know?"

Sonic was about to shake his head before he thought of something, his face going grim. "Let's go tell Snake," he whispered. "I'm sure he'd want to know, right?"

Mario nodded, the mood in the room shifting from relief to sorrow. "Yeah, he'd want to know."

As the two silently began to head to the alcove, Sonic stole a glance at Mario and reached for his hand, clasping it in his. And while Mario looked stunned for a moment, he squeezed back, their fingers entwining as they continued down the hall.

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** I'd been thinking about writing a scenario where things ended a bit more negativity, but in the end this one felt the most in-character for the two of them. Hopefully you all think so too. Thank you for the review!  


 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Out of all the aspects of this story that I was expecting to get criticized on, I can safely say that the one-sided crush thrown in for comedy relief was not one of them. Thanks for the review.


	33. Obligatory Sharing the Bed

**AN: I apologize in advance for the Fire Emblem support pun that's probably been used before already.**

* * *

 _~Chapter Thirty-Three: Obligatory Sharing the Bed~_

"Ungh."

Groaning, Sonic pressed his face tighter into the pillow, but it still didn't block out the rhythmic squeaking coming from Robin's room. After a few more moments an annoyed sigh escaped his lips and he sat up, the sheets pooling into his lap as he did so.

"They've been at it for half an hour!" he complained, coming to the conclusion that he was not getting any sleep in this particular room tonight. Ears flattened, he tossed the covers aside and stood, deciding that sleeping in the mansion would be a more peaceful option. He quietly opened the door and stepped into the hallway, clicking it shut and locking it before silently creeping through the darkened hall, making his way towards the door. However, another Smasher coming in from outside happened to reach the door at the same time Sonic did, resulting in the two accidentally bumping into each other.

"Sorry!" they both cried at the same time, before realization hit both of them.

"Sonic?"

"Mar?"

The two blinked at each other in confusion, before Sonic lightly chuckled.

"I'd say this would be a cute way to meet someone, but the fact that we've known each other for several years and the fact that we've also been together for a month makes it a moot point."

"Working on your pick-up lines, I see," Mario responded dryly. "Though I have to say, if this was the first time we were meeting, it wouldn't have worked on me."

Sonic stuck his tongue out childishly, before folding his arms and gazing at Mario curiously. "In all seriousness though, where were ya today?"

"In the library," Mario replied, Sonic only then noticing the book in Mario's hands. "I lost track of time once again, and the next time I looked up at a clock it was dark out."

"Whatcha readin'?" Sonic asked, Mario handing him the book so he could look at the cover. " _The Ancient Parchment: Rim of the Sky._ Sounds interesting."

"It is," Mario confirmed. "It's about dragons. It's one of my favourites. I can lend it to you when I'm done reading it."

"No, that's fine," Sonic politely declined. "I don't really have time to read anyway with guitar practice an' trainin'. Thanks for the offer though."

"Don't mention it," Mario replied, before gazing at Sonic curiously. "But why are you up?"

"Let's just say that Robin and Robyn are unintentionally teaching me what the 'S' in S-Support means," Sonic flatly stated, a few moments passing before Mario caught on to what Sonic was alluding to.

"Oh," was all he murmured, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"So I was just gonna find a couch to crash on," Sonic continued. "Figured I may as well, considerin' I don't think I'll be gettin' any sleep in my room tonight."

"Okay," Mario responded, before a thought crossed his mind. "Well, why don't you stay with me tonight?"

Sonic blinked at the offer, folding his arms and contemplating it. "I mean, if you're sure you're okay with it."

"I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't," Mario pointed out. "After all, we are together now, we should probably get used to doing things like this."

After mulling it over for a few more moments, Sonic nodded. "'Kay, I'm cool with this."

Mario smiled, opening the doors of the dorms and ushering Sonic in before heading in after him, the two of them heading towards Mario's room. Taking his key from his pocket Mario unlocked the door, the two of them stepping inside. Sonic glanced around while Mario locked the door, turning to face Sonic who was seemingly migrating towards the chair.

"So I'll sleep here," Sonic began, before Mario gave him a look.

"You do realize that I don't mind sharing the bed, right? I mean, if you're comfortable doing so."

Sonic blinked, apparently the thought of sharing the bed hadn't crossed his mind. It's not like he'd never shared a bed with anyone before; when Tails had been younger he'd often needed to be with the young fox thanks to the frequent nightmares. However, this was a little different. Tails was his little brother. Mario was his partner.

"Uh... well, it would be convenient," Sonic mumbled. "Sure, I guess."

"So I'll just... go get changed," Mario stated, while Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just... make myself comfortable."

With an awkward smile, Mario ducked into the bathroom to change while Sonic hesitated for a moment before lifting the covers and crawling into the bed, feeling a tad bit awkward.

 _'Even though there's nothing for me to be nervous about._ Sonic thought. _We've been roomates at the Olympics for years and I also fell asleep next to him once. This shouldn't be any different in the slightest.'_

Sonic heard the bathroom door open, and he quickly shut his eyes and attempted to go to sleep. With a noticeable pause, Mario eventually got into the bed next to Sonic, and the two of them remained in silence for several minutes until Sonic finally sighed.

"Have you ever shared a bed with anyone before?" he asked, turning to face Mario. Mario nodded, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.

"When we were children, Luigi and I refused to sleep in different beds. We grew out of it when we were about seven, but even to this day we still have bunk beds," he turned his eyes to Sonic. "What about you?"

"Yeah, when Tails was younger. He used to have a lot of nightmares, so I used to stay with him 'til he eventually stopped havin' 'em."

The two lapsed into silence yet again, until Sonic eventually turned over and faced the wall.

"So... night." Sonic mumbled.

" _Sì... buona notte_."

With that, Sonic shut his eyes and attempted to get some sleep that night.

/~/

As Mario quickly found out, sharing a bed with Sonic was one of the biggest mistakes he'd ever made in his life. Now, he knew Sonic had a tendency to snore, but he was usually able to drown it out most of the time. When it was pretty much right next to your ear however... that was a whole different story.

Not only that, but Sonic sprawled out in ways that seemed unnatural or uncomfortable, often dragging the sheets with him. Mario decided that 'Sonic the Blankethog' was a more appropriate name for Sonic, as he stole all of them and refused to give any of them back.

And then there was the kick that Mario wasn't sure was accidental or not. At one point he'd attempted to get at least a corner of the blanket back, only for Sonic to deliver a swift kick to his leg. And while Sonic's eyes were closed, the timing was too coincidental for it to be accidental. In the end Mario ended up curling into a ball, all while glaring daggers at the sleeping Sonic.

"You kicked me last night," Mario flatly told Sonic when they both woke up in the morning. Sonic grinned sheepishly at this, shrugging and trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Oops?" he tried, Mario rolling his eyes before heading into the bathroom in order to get ready for the day ahead.

Most of the Smashers were already in the dining room when Mario and Sonic got there, Sonic taking a seat next to Mega Man while Mario in turn sat across from him next to Pac-Man. As the Smashers quietly conversed Master Hand floated into the room, conversation ceasing as they all turned to look at him.

"Good morning, Smashers," Master Hand greeted. "The schedule for the next few weeks of matches has been posted on the bulletin board in the main hallway. Whenever you get the chance, please take note of which days you are scheduled for a match. That is all."

With that Master Hand floated out of the room, while the Smashers turned their attention towards eating their breakfast.

"I hope this weeks matches are tougher than last weeks!" Sonic exclaimed through a mouthful of food. Mega Man sipped at an E-Tank, eyes lowered.

"And I'm hoping that this weeks matches aren't as tough as last weeks." he sighed, Mario turning his attention towards the robot.

"Right, you were up against Ganondorf, Mewtwo and Bayonetta last week, weren't you?"

Mega Man nodded. "They all stomped me into oblivion," he mumbled bitterly.

"Aw, you're bein' too hard on yourself, Megs!" Sonic exclaimed. "D'you wanna train with me for a bit?"

Mega Man shook his head at the offer. "No, Pac-Man offered to help instead!"

At his name being mentioned, Pac-Man grinned widely before downing another Power Pellet.

"Well, I'm gonna go see who my opponents are!" Sonic exclaimed, springing from his seat and mildly startling a few Smashers who glanced over in surprise before going back to what they'd been doing. Mario watched Sonic leave, quickly downing the rest of his coffee before deciding to go after him.

By the time Mario made it to the bulletin board Sonic was predictably already there, mumbling to himself. Upon hearing Mario's approach he briefly turned to see who it was before turning back to the sheet of paper pinned to the corkboard.

"Y'think Master Hand would've used bigger print for these schedules," he muttered. "It's so much fun not bein' able to see where your name is - there I am!"

Sonic placed his finger on his name, running it across the schedule as Mario searched for his own name.

"So I've got a match against Lucina on Tuesday, then Little Mac on Wednesday..." Sonic read. "No one on Thursday, an'-"

He stopped as he read the name listed for Friday, blinking several times and his mouth running dry. Mario had gone silent as well, having found his name and read his schedule. Slowly the two turned to each other, dumbfounded.

They were having their rematch after all.

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** There should be about seven more chapters of this story if things go according to plan! Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Aw, thanks! Yeah, I'll admit that I like my crack ships a little too much, and while I'll still write vanilla ships, I like the thought of writing something that'll make several people murmur a confused, "What?" Thank you for the review!

 **Inuyasha572:** Like I said above, if all goes according to plan there should be seven more chapters! Thank you for the review!


	34. Heated Battle

_~Chapter Thirty-Four: Heated Battle~_

It didn't take long for word to spread around the Smash Mansion that Sonic and Mario were having a rematch. Some of the newcomers who didn't know of their history were a bit confused at first, but after some of the veterans filled them in they too became excited for the match.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Mario had taken to training; they'd decided that no matter what their relationship status was they were going to have a fair fight, no going easy on each other. As they'd put it to some Smashers who had asked, in this point in time they were rivals first and a couple second.

Eventually it was Friday, and with the spectator room packed with nearly every Smasher Master Hand turned to Mario and Sonic who were waiting outside the transporters, faces stoic as they stared the other down.

"Would you two step into the teleporters please?" Master Hand asked, Mario and Sonic giving each other one final glance before clasping hands.

"Remember - no goin' easy on me," Sonic started in a low tone. "I don't want all of my trainin' to go to waste."

"Oh, I'm not planning on going easy on you," Mario replied rather bluntly. "So you better not go easy on me!"

"I'm just hoping you can handle it. After all, it's been quite some time since we've done this. I don't wanna be too rough on ya."

"You should know by this point that I can handle anything, no matter how long it's been or how rough it is."

From the stands, Palutena blinked and turned towards several of her peers. "So, just to be clear, they are talking about fighting, right?"

Corrin's face went red as Samus sighed, giving the goddess an annoyed glance.

"Stop being immature," she muttered, while Pit cocked his head in confusion.

"Well, what else would they be talking about?" he questioned rather innocently, while Palutena grinned and ruffled his hair.

"You'll find out when you're older, sweetie," she sang sweetly, causing Pit to pout.

"But I'm almost two centuries old..." he whined before being shushed as Mario and Sonic were heading into the transporters, the stages randomizing until one was chosen - Omega Green Hill Zone. From the stands, a few Smashers complained.

"They're using that stage again? But it's already been used too much!"

"Oh, shut up and just watch the damn match. Stop complaining about everything."

As requested by both parties, items were once again switched off. The two materialized onto the stage, the timer counting down as the two prepared themselves.

"GO!"

The two launched into action, Mario going for a fireball while Sonic shielded, dodging out of the way of the grab Mario had attempted to lock him in. Gritting his teeth he launched into a homing attack, Mario shielding himself before beginning to charge up F.L.U.D.D.

Sonic grimaced as he was doused with the water from F.L.U.D.D., before curling into a spindash and barreling towards Mario. Mario swiftly dodged out of the way of the attack, though Sonic quickly U-turned and sent Mario flying back. Mario tried another fireball, before racing forward and using his Super Jump Punch.

Sonic winced as he was sent flying up into the air, before quickly stomping onto the ground and grabbing Mario, tossing him up into his quills and using a spring to follow Mario into the air, successfully landing a powerful mid-air kick.

Mario slammed back down onto the stage, shakily standing and quickly shielding as Sonic attempted to homing attack him. This time he managed to successfully grab Sonic, spinning him around before tossing him into the blast zone and depleting Sonic's first stock.

"You're faster," was all Sonic said after he'd respawned. Mario shrugged.

"It must have been your influence on me," he replied. "But enough chit-chat. We have a battle to finish."

"Right."

With that Sonic jumped back down onto the stage, and the two were at it again. For anyone who had seen the original match, they noticed how much more defensive the two of them were being. It made sense in a way, after spending so much time around each other they'd grown accustomed to each others moves. They knew each other like the backs of their hands - it certainly made for a more entertaining match.

Five minutes morphed into ten, and soon inched closer to fifteen. Mario panted, grinning up at Sonic after respawning from having his second stock depleted, leaving them both at one each.

"You know, I'm surprised you've been able to last this long!" he called across to Sonic.

"That trainin' really paid off," Sonic called back, a smirk on his face. "I feel like I take anythin' you dish out to me!"

"Oh I highly doubt it!" Mario shot back.

The two charged at each other once again, exchanging blow after blow until both their damage meters were over 100%, neither one of them wanting to let the other win. Eventually though Sonic grabbed Mario, and from the way they were positioned on the stage Mario knew that if he didn't break free Sonic was going to win.

"Y'know, it's been fun," Sonic started, gazing into Mario's eyes and smirking as he struggled in his grasp. "But it's about time I finished you off."

With that he leaned it to peck Mario on the lips, before he backflipped and tossed Mario into the blast zone, hearing the satisfying sound of his rival's last stock depleting.

"GAME!"

/~/

The spectator room was silent as Mario and Sonic exited the transporters, the two crossing the room to each other.

"Well... you won," Mario said softly, smiling at his partner. "Congratulations."

The two embraced, while several Smashers around them applauded Sonic's victory.

"Good job, Sonic!" Pit exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. "We should go celebrate!"

"Maybe later Pit," Palutena giggled, grabbing him by the wrist while her other hand was clasped in Corrin's. "I think these two probably want some... _alone time."_

Pit, still oblivious, turned to Corrin. "Do you know what she means?" he asked, Corrin sighing and shaking her head.

"Unfortunately, yes." she muttered, as Palutena dragged them both out of the room, while the rest of the Smashers began to trickle out, most of them congratulating Sonic on their way out. Mario frowned as the last Smasher exited the room, before eyeing Sonic warily.

"Was Palutena alluding to what I think she was?"

"Yeah," Sonic confirmed.

"Oh..." was all Mario said after that, coughing in embarrassment. Sonic meanwhile laced his hands behind his head and grinned at his partner.

"So... anythin' else you wanna do today?"

"Pit said something about celebrating, right? I think we should take him up on that offer."

"Sounds good to me."

The duo headed out of the room to seek out Pit, who would most likely be in the living room or kitchen. On the way there Sonic slipped his hand into Mario's, before a thought came to Mario's head and he stopped, forcing Sonic to halt as well.

"So that spindash you do is pretty useful, right?" Mario questioned, Sonic quirking an eyeridge and nodding.

"Yeah, it is pretty useful. Helps me get around quicker an' has the added benefit of steamrolling any enemies in my way."

"So do you think you could teach me how to do it?"

Sonic blinked, an amused look on his face. "You want me to teach you how to spindash?"

After nodding in confirmation, Sonic folded his arms and considered it. "Well it's really no different than a somersault. Can you do a somersault?"

"Of course I can."

"So then why do you need my help?"

"So that I could possibly use it as an attack as well. What do you say?"

Sonic sighed, before eying Mario in amusement. "Sure, we'll see how it goes. I hope you're prepared for some trainin' though, 'cause in order to learn how I do it properly it's probably gonna take more than a few hours."

"Is that a challenge?"

Sonic smirked, before nodding his head slowly. "Sure, it's a challenge then. If I manage to teach you how to spindash within a few hours, I have to go through three rounds of Smash Tour in a row."

"And if I can't learn how to in a few hours, I have to do the exact same thing," he extended his hand for Sonic to shake. "Deal?"

Sonic quirked an eyeridge at the outstretched hand in front of him, his eyes trailing up to meet Mario's. "Seriously? A handshake? C'mon Mar, you gotta be a bit more creative then that."

With that Sonic grabbed the collar of Mario's shirt and dragged him down to his level, bringing their lips together and effectively sealing the deal with a kiss.

"I agree to your terms," Sonic murmured when he pulled away. Reclasping his hand in Mario's, he began to lead them down the hall again. "Now let's go find Pit."

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TheGameNguyener:** It is gonna suck when the story ends. By the time it wraps up I'll have spent a year working on this fanfic, which is honestly kinda weird to think about. And yeah, I feel bad for Mario too, considering what he went through was based off of real life events. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **Inuyasha572:** Yeah, poor Mario. Like stated above, based on real life events! Thank you for the review!

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** I just didn't think there was anything worth noting within that first month, considering that they probably had Smash matches and training and personal hobbies. Don't worry though, we still have a few chapters left with what is hopefully cute interactions and shipping. Thank you for the review!

 **TemUltimate:** Both those moments you quoted were actually throw-it-in moments, so I'm so glad someone liked them. Thank you for the reviews!

* * *

 **AN: Bottom line, when I saw the trailer for Super Mario Odyssey and saw that somersault Mario did in the desert looking area, I immediately thought of Sonic's spindash and of course started joking with my friends that he learned it from Sonic. Then I realized it would be a good plot point for this story. *shrugs*  
**

 **Thank you all so much for reading. I'll see you all next week.**

 **~Steel**


	35. A Change in Plans

_~Chapter Thirty-Five: A Change in Plans~  
_

"Attention all Smashers. Would Mario, Sonic, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Rosalina, Ludwig, Larry, Wendy and Roy of the Koopalings come to my office please? Thank you."

Sonic frowned as Mario and Luigi next to him sighed, the three of them standing and giving Mega Man, Pac-Man and Pit apologetic looks.

"I guess we'll need to finish the campaign another time," Pit stated, referring to the game of _Fortresses & Fairies _they were playing. "Since Luigi is Fortress Master and all."

"Man, and just when it was gettin' good," Sonic complained, folding his arms. "I wonder what Master Hand wants."

"Well, we won't find out just standing here." Mario murmured, waving goodbye to their friends. Together they made their way to the third floor and into Master Hand's office where the other Smashers were waiting. After confirming that everyone was in his office, Master Hand began to speak.

"Good evening Smashers. I have gathered you here because I have received invitations for you all to compete in the Olympic Games on the Planet Doppel once again. The games are still quite a bit away though, and our tournament here should be wrapped up in time."

Sonic grinned as he was handed his envelope; even though he vastly preferred the winter games thanks to the lack of water based events he was still excited all the same. Mario accepted his envelope next, eyeing Bowser warily as he chuckled under his breath. Frowning, he waited for Bowser to leave the office before bringing Sonic and Luigi into a huddle.

"You two head back to the games room. I'll catch up with you two."

"Everythin' okay?" Sonic whispered, Luigi eyeing his older brother in concern.

" _Sì_ , just keeping my eye on something."

Sonic and Luigi exchanged a glance, shrugging before heading out of the office and back towards the games room. Meanwhile Mario tailed after Bowser, quietly following behind him and making sure he wasn't being seen. Bowser was heading back to the dormitories, and Mario waited for a moment before following him inside, frowning as Bowser suspiciously glanced around before ducking into his room.

Mario bit his bottom lip, quietly creeping up to Bowser's door and resting his ear against the wood. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but his gut feeling told him that something was wrong.

"Good to speak with you again as well, Dr. Eggman."

Mario's eyes widened as he heard Bowser's voice from inside the room, before frowning. Eggman? Bowser had no means of communicating with anyone else in this dimension, how was he able to get into contact with Eggman?

"Yes, I've received mine as well."

 _'They must be talking about the Olympic invitations...'_ Mario thought.

"Of course... I've got the plans all set up!" Bowser laughed. "Those idiots won't know what hit 'em! I think this is our greatest plan yet, not to mention it'll happen all throughout the Olympics and not just at the beginning."

 _'They're actually planning on sabotaging the Olympics again!'_

Mario stood, immediately hightailing it back to the games room. He needed to tell Sonic and Luigi what he'd just heard.

Mario could hear Sonic's loud laughter long before he was even near the games room. The sound made him smile, but he quickly returned to frowning as they had more pressing matters at hand than a game. Rounding the corner he entered the games room, where Sonic smiled brightly upon seeing him before his expression morphed into worry over the look on Mario's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. Mario hesitated, he really only wanted to speak with Sonic and Luigi, but it wouldn't hurt if the others heard it too.

"Bowser... I don't know how, but he was communicating with Eggman. They're planning on sabotaging the Olympics again!"

"What? How is that possible, Master Hand won't let us communicate with anyone outside of this dimensional gap! How could he possibly-"

"I have an idea," Luigi interrupted, Sonic going silent and Mario gazing at his brother in interest. "Well, Master Hand does have that machine that lets items become communicators for us... could it be possible that Bowser showed the technology to Eggman and he was able to replicate it? Didn't you say his IQ was 300?"

"You're right," Sonic murmured as his eyes widened in horror, turning to Mario. "That... that explains how him and Bowser were able to come up with plans to sabotage the Olympics before!"

"They've been able to communicate with each other this whole time," Mario muttered. "How could we not have realized that?"

Pit, Mega Man and Pac-Man all stood, feeling awkward being there when the matter didn't concern them.

"Guys, you don't have to leave," Sonic tried, noticing them heading towards the door. Pit shook his head.

"No, this is between you three. We'll finish the game some other time."

The trio left the room, while Mario put his head down, thinking. Sonic sighed, folding his arms.

"So didja hear what this plan would consist of?" Sonic questioned, while Mario shook his head.

"No, I bolted before Bowser could realize I was eavesdropping. The one thing I did hear was that they would strike throughout the Olympics and not at the beginning."

"We need to keep an eye on 'em," Sonic realized, his tone flat. Mario nodded, but looked troubled.

"But we can't do that if we're competing."

"I know," Sonic continued, expression blank. "That's why we can't compete this time around."

The statement caught both Mario and Luigi off guard, staring at Sonic with wide eyes. Mario momentarily wondered if Sonic was joking, before realizing he was dead serious.

"We can't do that Sonic! We're the team captains!"

"Well what else can we do?" Sonic fought back, unfolding his arms and placing one of his hands on his hip. "Are we just gonna sit back an' let Eggman and Bowser take over the Olympics? Or are we gonna do somethin' about it?"

Mario blinked, lowering his head and nodding. "But then that leaves us with two less members. And won't people ask if we aren't there?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Sonic responded, the couple trying to think of any possible solution. They were seemingly drawing a blank until Luigi spoke up.

"What about rookies?"

Both Mario and Sonic blinked, looking at each other before turning to Luigi.

"Rookies? But who could we possibly invite, almost everyone we know has been invited at least once!" Sonic pointed out.

"What about the Mii's on Doppel? I'm sure more than a few of them would jump at the chance to be a rookie member of either Team Mario or Team Sonic at the Olympics."

Both Mario and Sonic were quiet as they contemplated Luigi's proposition. Eventually though Mario nodded, seemingly liking the idea.

"I guess that would work," he mumbled, glancing at Sonic. "Would you be on board with this?"

"Dude, I'm on board for everythin'," Sonic replied with a wink. "But we need a way to announce the change in plans."

"Master Hand," Mario realized, before wincing. "We need to somehow convince Master Hand to get us into contact with everyone necessary."

"Dude, you're our leader. Master Hand's bound to listen to ya, right?"

"He already bent the rules for me this tournament though," Mario started. "I don't know if he'll be happy doing it again."

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Sonic declared, grabbing Mario's wrist and starting to drag him through the halls.

"S-Sonic," Mario stammered, attempting to break free from his grasp. "I'm not comfortable asking Master Hand for another favor."

"Mar," Sonic stated, turning to face him. "Relax, will ya? You had no issue tracking down the Mii's to get me a lifejacket. And also... when did Master Hand bend the rules for you?"

Mario chuckled, gazing at Sonic tenderly. "I was worried when we hadn't received a response from you back when the tournament started. Master Hand let me know when you'd responded, even though he's not supposed to do that."

Sonic smiled. "You were worried about me?" he asked.

"Of course I was worried about you! I thought you'd died, especially when we couldn't get ahold of you."

Sonic hummed, not saying anything more until they were standing outside Master Hand's office. He squeezed Mario's hand and grinned. "Ready?"

"No."

"Well, too bad!" with that Sonic reached his hand out and knocked on the door three times. "Master Hand? It's Sonic and Mario. May we speak with you please?"

"You may enter."

Sonic pushed the door open and the two stepped into Master Hand's office, the hand in question placing some paper aside before motioning towards the chairs.

"Please, have a seat."

Mario and Sonic obliged, sitting in the chairs as Master Hand turned his attention towards them.

"Now, what has brought you two to my office?"

Sonic glanced at Mario, the latter gulping as he realized Sonic wasn't going to say anything. Swallowing his nervousness, Mario cleared his throat.

"We... need to ask you for a favor, Master Hand. There's been a slight change in plans for the Olympics, and we need to contact everyone necessary."

Master Hand was silent for a moment, before sighing. "I have already bent the rules for you once, Mario. I cannot allow you to keep abusing your powers as leader."

"I realize that, but this is important!" Mario fought back. "The entire Olympics may be at stake if we don't do something about it! Please Master Hand, I promise I won't ask for anything ever again."

"No."

The blunt answer caught both Mario and Sonic off-guard, Sonic narrowing his eyes as Mario recovered from the shock.

"Fine then, if you won't bend the rules for him, bend them for me!"

Master Hand shook again, signaling another no. "There is no reason I should bend the rules for you. You are not a leader here."

"Well, being the leaders boyfriend must stand for somethin', right?"

 _"Sonic!"_ Mario hissed. While it was certainly no secret that the two of them were together, Mario knew that Master Hand generally disliked relationships between Smashers. Of course it never stopped any of them, and Master Hand had never actually enforced a rule against it, but bringing it up now? In front of him? What was Sonic thinking?

Oh wait, he wasn't.

This was the bad part about Master Hand having no facial features. It was hard to tell what he was thinking most of the time, and as he floated there Mario felt his anxiety levels spike. Finally Master Hand floated out of his chair and towards the door.

"I shall make a few adjustments to my devices so you two may communicate with whoever you need to communicate with, since I sense that neither of you are going to leave unless I comply. Please wait right here, I shall return."

Master Hand floated out of the room as Mario breathed a sigh of relief, Sonic reaching out to squeeze his hand. "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Says you," Mario sighed. "What were you thinking, bringing up our relationship in front of Master Hand like that?"

"Gee, a simple 'thank you' would suffice," Sonic shot back as Master Hand floated back in.

"Alright you two, you're free to communicate with whoever you need to. The communicators are between my office and Crazy Hand's."

Saying their thanks, the couple headed out of the office and into the communicator room, Mario turning to Sonic.

"So I'll get into contact with the Mii's, while you contact your friends?"

"Sounds good," Sonic agreed, figuring that contacting Tails was probably his best choice in a situation like this one. However, he paused as he was about to contact Tails, realizing that he'd need to tell his little brother that he was now in a relationship with Mario.

Well, whatever. He would have found out eventually, and nodding to himself Sonic dialed the number of the Miles Electric. A few moments of silence passed before an image appeared on the screen in front of Sonic, Tails recoiling in shock as he realized who it was.

"Sonic?"

"Hey buddy!" Sonic greeted, a smile on his face. "Miss me?"

"Yeah, but how are you able to contact me?" Tails questioned.

"A little help from Master Hand," Sonic replied, before turning serious. "So, you got your Olympics invite, right?"

"Yeah, I just got it today. Why?"

"Well, Baldy McNosehair and Bowser outsmarted me an' Mar, they've been able to contact each other for quite some time now. An' they're planning on sabotaging the Olympics again."

"What are they planning on doing?"

"We don't know yet, but it's somethin' big. So me and Mar ain't competing this time around. We'll be keepin' an eye on 'em, and we'll have rookies in our place."

While Tails looked stunned, he nodded. "Sounds like you guys have everything under control then! Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, actually. Tell the team to keep on their guard, but don't tell 'em that the villains are planning anythin'. Don't wanna freak anyone out."

"Alright, got it!" Tails exclaimed. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

Sonic took a deep breath, the moment of truth had arrived. "Yeah, somethin' pretty big actually."

"Go on."

Sonic clicked his tongue, pondering on how to word things. "You see... I'm kinda... in a relationship with somebody."

"Is it Mario?"

Sonic blinked, shocked at how fast Tails was able to figure it out. "How did you-"

"I've known about your crush for years. I just never said anything because I could sense that you were a bit uncomfortable with it."

"You're way to smart for your own good sometimes," Sonic mumbled. "So how do you feel about it?"

"Are you happy?" Tails asked seriously. Sonic nodded.

"'Course I'm happy."

"Then that's all that matters. As long as you're happy, then everything's fine," Tails smiled. "I'd love to chat more, but I was kinda in the middle of testing a new power source for my plane."

"I get it buddy. See you soon! And... I guess let a few of our friends know that I'm in a relationship."

"Got it. See you soon!"

With that the connection went dead, and Sonic grinned to himself as he went to see if Mario was done. It seemed he was just finishing up as Sonic waited, and as soon as the connection went dead he wandered over. "So you got everythin' sorted out?"

Mario nodded. " _Sì_ , so both of us will need to pick a rookie for our team. There will be a lot of applicants, so be prepared for that."

"Oh, I'm ready. I let Tails know what was happening. An' he also knows that we're a thing now as well."

"Oh?" Mario exclaimed, cocking his head. "What was his response?"

"He was totally fine with it. Apparently he'd known about my crush for years. Guess I wasn't bein' as subtle about it as I would have liked to have been."

"You? Subtle?" Mario questioned. "Come on now, we all know that those two words don't belong in a sentence together when discussing you. Though in all honesty, I hadn't figured it out, so you were doing something right I suppose."

Sonic hummed, folding his arms. "So... we've got nothin' else to do today... wanna track down your brother an' our friends so we can finish the campaign?"

Mario contemplated it, before smiling and nodding. "That sounds like a great idea. After all, we may as well have some fun before all hell inevitably breaks loose."

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **Inuyasha572:** That's actually coming up next chapter! Hopefully it's entertaining enough. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **TheGameNguyener:** I was on the fence about adding the kiss before Sonic took out his last stock, but in the end I decided it was sort of in line with his character to do something like that. And yeah, their rivalry is what makes writing them together fun in the first place to me at least, so having them be a bit of a competitive couple seemed like the right way to go. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **breath20k:** I'm glad you think so! Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Let's see... Sonic saved Mario's and all the other Smashers lives back in chapter 2, he was a shoulder for Mario to lean on in chapter 11, he reunited Mario and Luigi back with their parents in chapter 17, and in general he's been one of the closest friends Mario has ever had, as Mario himself says in chapter 30. After the blanket fort in chapter 25, Mario's feelings for Sonic began to change, and there were several subtle hints I placed throughout the chapters to reflect this, such as him not knowing how to feel when Sonic was still holding onto his arm at the end of chapter 26, and feeling flustered when Sonic accused him of flirting with him back in chapter 28. However, he was still a bit blind to his own feelings, and if Sonic hadn't kissed him he may never have discovered he had them in the first place. Thank you for the review!

* * *

 **AN: Yes, Fortresses and Fairies is this worlds version of D &D. *shrugs*  
**

 **Anyway, since I'm positive that maybe three people in the world played the 3DS version of Rio 2016, this entire chapter may be a bit confusing to you. The story mode was quite different from the other games in the series. Don't worry, things will make sense once we actually get to those chapters. Thanks for reading guys, see you all next week.  
**

 **~Steel**


	36. Training Montage

_~Chapter Thirty-Six: Training Montage~  
_

 _Thud. Thud. Thud._

Any Smasher who happened to wander by the locked training room gazed curiously at the doors, wondering what was going on in there. Complete with tired pants and heavy grunts, it wasn't too surprising that many Smashers got the wrong idea and incorrectly assumed that a couple of their fellow brethren were doing something other than training behind those doors.

But they would be wrong in thinking that. It was just Sonic trying to teach Mario how to spindash - with lackluster results.

"Your form is still wrong," Sonic rather dryly stated, his arms folded as he leaned against the wall watching Mario attempt to hit the Sandbag he'd placed in front of him. "You need to really tuck in your arms and legs, otherwise you're just gonna uncurl and leave yourself vulnerable to attack."

Mario sighed, removing his hat and running a hand through his hair. "This is a lot harder than I anticipated."

"I told you that it was gonna take more than a few hours," Sonic sighed, facepalming. "Do you need me to show you again?"

"I think so," Mario said rather sheepishly as Sonic clicked his tongue, getting in line with the Sandbag.

"'Kay, so first you need to get a running start, and then when you're at a good speed you tuck an' roll. An' make sure you're on target too. Like so."

With that Sonic took off into a sprint, curling and launching into a spindash, colliding with the Sandbag like a buzzsaw and sending it flying a few feet. Uncurling, Sonic went to grab the Sandbag, setting it back up and looking over at Mario. "Try again."

"Running sprint, tuck and curl," Mario mumbled to himself as he got into position, eyeing the Sandbag with a determined expression. "I can do this."

Taking a deep breath Mario took off, trying once again. And even though he missed hitting the Sandbag, Sonic seemed impressed when Mario uncurled.

"Your form was better that time," Sonic stated. "Now do it again."

Mario nodded, eyeing the Sandbag and sprinting forward, tucking and rolling in a near perfect somersault. Sonic laughed, giving off a small round of applause before speaking.

"Dude, that was almost perfect! Keep it up like that, an' then we'll work on your aim."

Minutes turned into hours, and while Mario's aim was still a bit off his somersault had improved greatly, pleasing Sonic.

"Y'know, let's take a break for today. Now that we've got your somersault down it shouldn't be too difficult to teach ya the rest. Though I don't think you could ever use it as an actual attack, just somethin' to help ya get around faster. Unless we attach some quills to your back or somethin'."

Mario frowned, seemingly considering it. "Would that actually work?"

"Oh, sure," Sonic replied casually. "I mean, we can get some duct tape or superglue... really, you've known me how long and couldn't pick up on the fact that I was bein' sarcastic?"

"Sometimes it's hard to tell with you," Mario muttered as him and Sonic exited the training room, heading to Mario's room so they could sort through some more Mii applicants. "So I guess I'm going through Smash Tour."

"Not today. We'll wait until you've actually mastered the spindash first," Sonic said, opening the back doors of the mansion and stepping out into the cool night. Surprisingly it was completely silent, as there were no Smashers loitering outside. It seemed like a rare peaceful night at the Smash Mansion...

...until the doors of the dormitories flew open, a panic-stricken Pit fluttering out followed by a pissed-off, soaking Dark Pit screaming something about getting caught in a trap meant for Bayonetta while Pit profusely apologized. A moment later Palutena stormed out, using her powers to grab Pit by the wings and drag him back into the dorms while Dark Pit brushed past Mario and Sonic and stormed into the main mansion.

"...Alrighty then," Sonic commented as him and Mario continued down the path, entering the dorms as Lucina exited the girls wing, pausing as she noticed the heroic duo.

"My apologies, but did you happen to see Dark Pit anywhere?"

"He went to the main mansion," Mario responded, while Lucina nodded.

"Thank you."

With that she hurried off to presumably find Dark Pit, while Mario gave Sonic a bewildered look.

"They're friends?" he questioned, while Sonic shrugged.

"How would I know? I don't speak with either of them enough, though it kinda seems like there may be somethin' more goin' on, considering we know that Dark Pit was in the girls dorm past curfew."

"I told you curfew wouldn't stop them." Mario sighed as they reached his room, unlocking the door and stepping inside. Sonic immediately flopped down on the bed before reaching for the devices Master Hand had provided them with so they could sort through Mii applicants.

"Alright, let's see what we've got today," he mumbled as he began to scroll through the applicants, Mario grabbing his own as he lay next to Sonic.

"Have any caught your interest so far?" Mario asked as Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, there are a few I keep going back to," Sonic mumbled. "I think I've made my decision, but I just wanna make sure I haven't missed anyone. You?"

"I think I've got mine picked out," Mario responded, showing Sonic the Mii on the screen. Something changed in Sonic's expression as he stared at the Mii, there was something about him that seemed... _familiar._

"Where's he from?" Sonic asked.

"London," Mario responded. "Why?"

Sonic stared hard at the photo again, before realization struck him. "That's the Mii that came up to us in the coffee shop! So that chapter wasn't just pointless filler after all!"

While Mario didn't understand the second part of Sonic's statement, he quickly took another look at the photo, the same look of realization crossing his face as well.

"So it is... I guess you were right about seeing that Mii again!"

"So what's his name?" Sonic asked eagerly.

"His name is Oliver, and I'm sure he'll be happy to know that he's the rookie for my team."

"Man, now I need to pick mine," Sonic groaned. He began to tap away at his screen again, while Mario set his device down and grabbed a book to read, deciding to leave Sonic be while he chose. Sonic however had other plans, as he scooted closer and lay his head on Mario's shoulder as he looked. Mario raised an eyebrow, but said nothing more as he began to read, occasionally glancing at Sonic's screen.

"I think I have one picked out," Sonic declared a while later, tilting his screen towards Mario. "Her name's Luna, an' she's from Vancouver."

Mario glanced at the screen; a dark haired blue-eyed Mii with an air of confidence stared back. He nodded. "She looks like someone who belongs on your team."

"An' what's that supposed to mean?"

"It was a compliment," Mario stated as Sonic switched off his device, briefly getting up in order to grab his guitar that had migrated from his room to Mario's, along with a few other possessions of his considering he now slept in this room more than his own. As soon as he flopped back down onto the bed Mario gave him a side glance. "You're really going to play that now?"

"Hey, I'm not pluggin' it in, an' I won't play it loud."

Mario just stared at Sonic for a few moments longer, unimpressed, before turning his attention back to his book. Sonic meanwhile began to lightly strum, humming along with the tune he was playing.

"That song you're playing is actually going along well with this scene." Mario murmured a few moments later, not raising his eyes from the page. Sonic snickered, placing his hand over the strings to quiet them before eyeing Mario with a smug look.

"An' you didn't want me to play," he teased, before he placed the guitar on the floor next to the bed and curled up next to Mario, closing his eyes. "Night."

Mario blinked, before reaching over to the nightstand and turning the light off, grabbing the booklight and switching that on instead so Sonic would be able to sleep. Pulling the covers over Sonic, he kissed his forehead before turning his attention back to his book.

" _Buona notte_ , Sonic."

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** I thought the same thing about the Rio games at first too, but I personally had a lot of fun with both of them, and sunk more hours into them than I'd like to admit to random strangers on the Internet. But yeah, a proper crossover game would be pretty cool, and I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about what it could theoretically be like. I've never settled on what the theoretical gameplay could be like though, but I am a bit partial towards an RPG, as that way neither character overshadows the other. But that's just me wishing, and hopefully one day another crossover will happen! Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **itanimulli:** Considering what my nicknames have been in the past, I don't have an issue with you calling me that. And I feel the need to apologize for making you enjoy this ship, that wasn't my intention in the slightest. Sonic and Mega Man sounds like a cute ship though, especially taking the comics into consideration. Maybe I'll have to check that one out. Thank you for the review!

 **CatbyShynie. EXE:** Thank you so much! Yeah, considering I'm following the story plot of the 3DS version of Rio 2016, Bowser and Eggman are certainly up to something. But like you said, when aren't they, right? Thank you for the review!

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Well, since I'm following the storyline of the Rio 2016 3DS game, Mario and Sonic aren't competing this time around. They need to keep an eye on Bowser and Dr. Eggman, thus rookies are competing in their place. Thank you for the review!


	37. Discussions

**AN: Goes without saying, but spoilers for Mario and Sonic Rio 2016 3DS. In case anyone actually cares.**

* * *

 _~Chapter Thirty-Seven: Discussions~_

Mario had spent the better part of the morning in the infirmary tending to a few wounds Alph had received thanks to a reckless stunt involving his and Olimar's Pikmin. So when he finally emerged from the infirmary and saw a large crowd had gathered outside the living room, he was naturally a little curious and quickly found Sonic among the group, tapping him on the shoulder and giving him a questioning look.

"What's going on?"

"Battle of the blond swordsmen," Sonic replied, referring to the fact that Link and Cloud were having a fight in the middle of the living room, about what was anyone's interpretation as they were yelling in Japanese, and while most Smashers had a basic understanding on the language, they were speaking so fast that it was hard to understand them.

"How long has this been going on for?"

"'Bout half an hour. Dunno what started it, but it's been entertainin'," turning, Sonic's hand fell to his hip. "So how's Alph?"

"He's going to make a full recovery."

"Good," Sonic briefly turned back to glance at the fight before turning back to Mario. "'Kay, so there's somethin' I actually need to talk to you about. Regarding the Olympics."

"What is it?"

Grabbing Mario's arm, Sonic led him away from the living room and into the abandoned dining room. "'Kay, so I learned a bit more of what Bowser an' Egghead's plans are."

Mario blinked, eyeing Sonic with a questioning look. "How, exactly?"

"Well, see, Bowser kinda left the door to his room open, an' I just so happened to accidentally bump into it and open it, an' I just so happened to find his plans on a piece of paper which I then read as quickly as I could an' memorized it so I could tell you."

Mario just stared at Sonic in shock. "You broke into another Smasher's room?"

"It was _open,"_ Sonic emphasized. " I didn't break in, I just bumped into it an' it happened to open!"

Mario shook his head. "You do realize that breaking into another Smasher's room can get you kicked out of the tournament, right?"

"Look, d'you wanna hear what I discovered or not?"

Mario sighed, rubbing his temples before nodding. "Sure, what did you find out?"

"'Kay, so they're planning on stealing our medals from the Hall of Medals, an' Egghead's apparently got some sort of mind-control device that he's gonna set up somewhere, an' he's gonna use it to brainwash a few citizens to start rumors that our teams are fighting; I'm assuming to start a rift between our two teams."

"Which shouldn't work, because we already warned them to keep on their guard."

"Well, you never know. The thing is, they never said where they were gonna take the medals, or where the mind-control device is gonna be. So I'm thinkin' it would be easier to split up and go after one each. Whaddya think?"

"Wouldn't it be easier to stop them before they take the medals?" Mario asked. Sonic wagged a finger.

"Then they'll know that we know of their plans. D'you really wanna risk that happenin', 'specially when Egghead has a mind-control machine in an undisclosed location?"

"Good point," Mario murmured. "So I'm guessing you probably want to go after Dr. Eggman?"

"Yeah, I've dealt with him enough times to have an idea of how to take him down. So it's up to you to find out where they're gonna keep the missing medals, 'kay?"

"You can count on me."

"Good," Sonic smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. "Now that that's out of the way, you wanna go train some more? Or d'you wanna do somethin' else?"

"Training sounds good," Mario said. "If we're going after Bowser and Dr. Eggman again, we may as well be in top form."

"Perfect!" Sonic exclaimed, grabbing Mario's arm and bounding towards the training room. "After all, not only do we have our respective enemies to worry about, but we need to train for the next time we're inevitably forced to fight each other. 'Cause I hope you realize that I'm still never gonna go easy on you."

"That's exactly what I want to hear from you," Mario admitted. "If you started going easy on me, I can safely say I wouldn't be pleased."

"Same goes for you if you ever started goin' easy on me."

Mario lightly chuckled. "We're a very unorthodox couple, aren't we?"

"Are you seriously just figurin' that out now?" Sonic questioned, turning to face Mario with a quirked eyeridge.

"Of course not. It's just something I think about a lot. I'm in a relationship with my sort of ex-rival who I still have a rivalry with despite the fact that we're friends but we still feel the need to one-up the other at any given moment."

Sonic snickered, pushing open the doors of the training room. "Well, when you put it like _that..._ "

The training room was empty at the moment, and as Sonic went to grab a Sandbag Mario sat down on a bench and began to think.

"Hey Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think you'd be doing if Dr. Eggman wasn't a threat? If you could have a normal life, what would it be?"

Sonic faltered, not having an answer. "Geez, I dunno. All I've known my whole life is fighting for peace. A normal life is somethin' that just never crossed my mind." Setting the Sandbag up, he gave it a couple of punches before turning to Mario. "Why, do you have some sort of plans if Bowser wasn't a threat?"

"I'd try to get my PhD again." Mario replied with no hesitation. "I'm sick of some of the Smashers referring to me as the 'Shady Back Alley Doctor'."

Sonic visibly flinched. "So you know about that, huh?"

"While most gossip tends to not reach my ears, that is one thing I know they say about me."

"Even though they have no reason to," Sonic muttered, delivering a kick to the Sandbag that knocked it back a couple of feet. "You're still good at what you do."

" _Grazie._ That doesn't seem to matter in some of their eyes though, but I can't really blame them either. Technically, they are right."

Sonic remained silent, continuing to beat up the Sandbag as Mario watched.

"You know, it's kind of funny," Mario mused. "We never would have met if I hadn't ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"An' that only happened 'cause you didn't have a PhD," Sonic pointed out. "So everythin' worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"I guess it did," Mario then glanced around the training room, a laugh escaping his lips. "Ever notice how all of our important conversations take place in here?"

Sonic snorted, a wide grin on his face. "Yeah, it must be because of the totally romantic atmosphere. Y'know, with the rubber mats and the brick wall and the ceiling lights suspended by cords that could easily come crashin' down an' kill someone. Yeah, that really gets me goin'. But in all honesty, I think it's because it's mostly quiet in here. We can't hear what's going on in the mansion, an' they can't hear us."

"Right," Mario mumbled, before rising from the bench and wandering over to the supply cabinet in order to grab a Sandbag for himself. "But I suppose that's enough talk for one day. Now let's get to training."

"Sounds good to me!"

* * *

 _ **Replies**_

 **TaffyLover12:** Why thank you! I know this is going to sound redundant, but thank you for the review! **  
**

 **TheGameNguyener:** Ah yes, I'm aware of that author's work. I favourited a couple of her stories, actually. I'm glad you liked the chapter though! Thank you for the review!

 **itanimulli:** I reply to any and all reviews. And yeah, Mario trying to spindash would be a funny sight, wouldn't it? Thank you for the review!


	38. Final Day

**AN: I'll say this again because I'll feel guilty if I don't, but the next two chapters will have some very suggestive content, so if you're uncomfortable please turn back now. And if you're still here, then enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 _~Chapter Thirty-Eight: Final Day~_

"Alright Mar, I've been patient with ya so far. But you're still not gettin' outta doin' this!"

Mario sighed as he stared at the transporter that would warp him into three consecutive rounds of Smash Tour. Wincing, he turned back to Sonic with a glare. "Remind me to never make any sort of bet with you again."

"Ah, but we're in a competitive relationship, are we not? So you better start gettin' used to stuff like this." Pausing, he added. "Plus, you put this off until the very last minute. If you'd just done this sooner, you'd be able to spend your last day in the mansion relaxing, instead of going through hell reincarnated into a game mode!"

"Question," Mario stated, Sonic quirking an eyeridge.

"Shoot." he answered.

"We sealed this deal with a kiss, and the only reason we did so is because of the fact that we're in a relationship. So if I break up with you now, does that mean I don't have to go through this?"

"Nice try Mar, but that's not how these things work. A deal is a deal, whether it worked in your favor or not."

"Darn," Mario muttered under his breath. Sonic snickered, before pushing Mario into the transporter.

"Have fun!" he sang, Mario shooting him one last glare before he was warped onto the playing field, groaning as he glanced around in dispair.

"This... isn't going to end well."

/~/

"Three rounds of Smash Tour? In a row?"

Sonic nodded at Mega Man's exclamation. "Well, he shoulda known better than to make a bet with me. An' people say that I'm the overconfident and cocky one."

Pac-Man beeped, Mega Man translating as, "You still are."

Sonic scoffed, before his eyes turned to the handful of other Smashers waiting in line in order for their items to be transformed into communicators thanks to Master Hand's machine. As Mario had suspected, something was going on between Dark Pit and Lucina as they were exchanging items, as well as some of the other couples that had formed during their time in the mansion. Meanwhile Pit was trying to bury the hatchet with Bayonetta, and was seemingly succeeding.

"Look up there!" Mega Man exclaimed, pointing to one of the TV screens that was displaying the current game of Smash Tour. Mario had seemingly finished up, and was looking tired and annoyed. "Looks like Mario's done. Maybe you should find a place to hide."

"Why? He's the one who suggested to make it a challenge in the first place."

A tap on his shoulder made Sonic turn around, finding himself face-to-face with Mario.

"How did you get here so fast?" Sonic wondered as Mario grabbed his arm, remaining silent. "Mar?"

Mega Man and Pac-Man watched, wide eyed, as Mario dragged Sonic away and out of the room, wondering if that was the last time they'd ever see their friend again alive. Meanwhile Sonic struggled in Mario's grasp as he led him through the halls, seemingly leading him to the dormitories.

"Mar, where are we..."

"You're not getting away with that," Mario finally said, opening the doors of the dormitories and leading Sonic down the hall to his room. "So I don't care what our original bet was. If you'll let me, I want to get even with you."

Sonic momentarily wondered how Mario would be able to get even with him that involved going to his room, until his mind decided to go someplace... _else_ , so to speak. His eyes widened as he realized what Mario probably meant by his statement, and even though he'd never expected Mario to initiate things, he certainly wasn't going to complain about it. "Sure," Sonic croaked, his mouth suddenly dry in anticipation.

Unlocking the door to his room, Mario dragged Sonic inside and released his arm from his grasp, closing the door behind them. Giving Sonic one last annoyed look, he began to rummage around in one of his dresser drawers.

"You know, I never thought I would ever be using this," Mario admitted as he searched. "But now seems like the perfect time." he produced an item from the drawer, and turning shoved it into Sonic's hands.

Mario had never seen Sonic look so disappointed as he stared at the Crazy Orders ticket in his hands, a noticeable blush on his face. "Well, _that's_ not what I was expectin'," Sonic murmured, Mario raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing!" Sonic replied a little too quickly, clearing his throat awkwardly. "So... I'll just go do this now then."

With a final awkward smile, Sonic bolted from the room leaving Mario standing there in confusion, wondering what had just happened. Shaking his head, he followed Sonic out of the room, locking his door behind him and heading towards the spectator room to watch the madness unfold.

/~/

"I'm surprised he's been able to last this long."

Mario turned his attention towards Shulk, who had floated into the room at some point thanks to a lack of things to do in the mansion. He'd exchanged items with everyone he needed to, and was basically just waiting to go back home to his fiancée and friends.

"I'm not," Mario replied. "He's gotten a lot stronger since our days in Brawl, as evidenced by his standings this time around."

Shulk nodded, continuing to watch the match intently. Mario had to admit, he didn't know much about the Homs boy, other than the fact that he was gifted with visions from the future and wielded a crimson sword known as the Monado. Of course, the one he used in Smash was a replica designed specifically for the battle conditions, as were any other legendary weapons other Smashers such as Link or Marth used. Other than that though, their paths hadn't crossed very often thanks to their friend groups rarely interacting.

"So, how did you like Smash?" Mario questioned, wanting to get a newcomers opinion on the entire thing. Shulk pondered on the question for a moment, before giving his reply.

"I quite enjoyed it. It really helped to improve my battle style, and I was fortunate enough to make some new friends here as well. I sincerely hope that if there is another tournament that I'll be invited back."

"Unfortunately, I have no say about who comes back or not anymore. But I'm sure you will be, you were pretty high up on the rankings board thanks to your unique moveset."

Shulk smiled. "Thank you Mario, that's a high compliment coming from someone like you."

Mario briefly frowned at Shulk's statement. He honestly hated it when people put him in such high regard; sure, he was a hero, but that didn't mean they needed to treat him any differently!

"He's done," Shulk pointed out, snapping Mario out of his thoughts. He'd missed the entire match between Sonic and Crazy Hand, but by how disheveled Sonic was, it was pretty obvious he'd lost. Stumbling out of the transporter, Sonic glared at Mario.

"I hate you so much right now," he flatly droned, Mario raising an eyebrow.

"The feeling was mutual about an hour and a half ago."

"I should have made you go through six rounds instead of three."

"I should have saved up more Crazy Orders tickets."

Shulk looked between the two, concerned, before both of their expressions softened and they crossed the room to each other.

"So I just need to do somethin' first, an' then I'll meet up with you later, 'kay?"

"No problem. Mega Man and Pac-Man wanted to trade items with me, right?"

"Yeah, they should still be in the auditorium."

"Perfect," exchanging a hug, Sonic left the room while Mario glanced over at Shulk who stood there, a confused look on his face wondering how the two of them could go from one extreme to the other in the blink of an eye. "What?"

/~/

Sonic stepped out into the back of the mansion, bypassing the dorms and heading towards the garden. He wanted to visit Snake one last time before they left, but as he approached the alcove he spied a wisp of smoke in the air, and he knew that he wasn't the only one who'd had that idea today.

"Y'know, that's not healthy for you," Sonic told Samus as he entered the alcove, the bounty hunter rolling her eyes as she inhaled another puff of smoke from the cigarette.

"You sound just like your boyfriend," she muttered. "And what does it matter? We're all going to die anyway."

Sonic had to agree that she had a point with that one. "Yeah, you got me there," he stared down at Snake's grave, clicking his tongue. "So I take it you're here to visit him too?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Sonic was quiet after that, his gaze flicking between Samus and the grave. "So... you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well cause, y'know... he meant a lot to you, didn't he?"

Samus huffed, extinguishing the cigarette and flicking it into the nearby trashcan. "What does it matter to you anyway?"

"Am I not allowed to be concerned about a friend?"

Samus let out a half-hearted chuckle. "I'm surprised you even consider us friends."

"I consider almost everyone here friends, except the villains of course. And even though we never did see eye-to-eye on most things, Snake was my friend too."

Samus hummed. "I do miss him," she admitted, voice quiet as her frosty demeanor began to thaw. "I miss him and I hate him for it, but at the same time... well, I think you can figure that out on your own."

Sonic nodded, figuring that had been the case. Why else would she have been so upset about Snake's death? Samus remained quiet, before turning and beginning to wander out of the alcove. Hesitating, she added cryptically, "If you love someone, you should tell them how much they mean to you, otherwise you may never get that chance again. Remember that."

Sonic just stared after Samus' retreating form, wondering what that had been all about. Blinking, he turned his attention towards Snake's grave again, not really knowing what to say or do. Finally he sighed, running a hand through his quills. "I miss ya too, buddy."

After a moment of respectful silence, Sonic made his way out of the alcove back towards the mansion. He wanted to meet up with Mario and spend a few more hours with his friends before they were all separated again.

/~/

"Now remember to stay in contact you two!"

Mega Man nodded, him and Pac-Man both having a ring and coin from Sonic and Mario, respectively. In exchange, they'd received a Power Pellet and an E-Tank, the latter being too big for Sonic to stuff in his quills so he'd taken to shoving it in one of his bags.

Pac-Man beeped, Mega Man translating as, "Have fun at the Olympics!"

"We'll try," Mario assured, side-eyeing Bowser in the process.

"I'm going to miss you guys so much!" Mega Man continued. "Hopefully we'll all see each other again real soon!"

"I'm sure we will!" Sonic exclaimed, as one of the Mii's yelled for the Smashers heading for Doppel. With a wave, Sonic and Mario wandered in the direction of their teleporter, Mario turning to Sonic.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's see what's gonna happen this time."

Together, they headed into the room where the teleporters to Doppel were, most of Mario's teammates already there and waiting. After a few minutes of waiting for everyone else to arrive, the Mii tapped a few keys and light enveloped the teleporter, taking them to Doppel and whatever the Olympics had in store for them.

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** I can't believe I'm almost done with the story either! It seems like just yesterday I was posting the first chapter, and suddenly half of 2017 is gone! Time sure flies when you're having fun, I suppose. Thank you for the review! **  
**

 **itanimulli:** The handheld versions of the Mario and Sonic games barring the first one always had a bit of a story mode. Why they never decided to have story modes in the home console versions is beyond me, but whatever. And Master Hand terminating a Smasher because of foolishness isn't a harsh punishment in the slightest, this is a fighting competition, and that should be their main focus. For instance, if Mario and Sonic found themselves not able to fight one another back in Chapter 34 because of their relationship status, there is a very high chance they could have both been kicked out. Granted, a lot of rules exist that a lot of Smashers don't follow, and a lot of stuff goes unreported to Master Hand as well. Thank you for the review!

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Oh my... thank you so much! I thought I'd been botching Sonic's character this entire time, so that's very reassuring! Yes, the flanderized Sonic trope is one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to reading fanfiction, because while he is indeed cocky and sarcastic, that doesn't make him a complete jerk. There's more to his character then that, and one of my goals with this fanfic was to display the kinder side of his character that doesn't always get written about, while keeping his flaws intact as removing them completely makes him not Sonic anymore. And I'm sorry about his verbal tic, in removing Mario's I wrote in a new one for Sonic. I honestly thought it worked with his character, and I'll probably go back and fix it when I'm done posting all the chapters. Thank you for the review!

 **Guest:** It's always nice to have a chapter where characters just talk. Especially since this is a romance fic, it's vital. Thank you for the review!

* * *

 **AN: Two chapters remain...**


	39. Their Final Night

**AN: For those of you who haven't played Rio 2016 and don't want the story spoiled, ignore the first three paragraphs.  
**

* * *

 _~Chapter Thirty-Nine: Their Final Night~_

Bowser and Dr. Eggman's plan had been set into action the moment they all stepped foot onto Doppel. While Mario and Sonic were distracted by a few Mii's finalizing their decision to not compete this time around, their medals had been stolen according to plan. Not only that, but two local residents had fallen victim to the brainwash, and just as the notes had stated, had started spreading rumors about the two teams fighting, which had caused some initial friction but it had managed to be smoothed over thanks to the work of the team rookies, Luna and Oliver.

What none of them had anticipated however, was Bowser going after Luna and Oliver's medals as well, stealing them shortly after the last event had taken place. However, by the rookies teaming up with the heroes they managed to foil the villains evil plot and send them flying into the skies of Rio above.

Which is how they all ended up in their current situation, both teams celebrating their victory as the sky around them began to shift into the light purple of twilight. Sonic watched in amusement as Luna and Oliver were currently engaged in a volleyball match with the two boys who had been under mind-control, now returned to normal thanks to Luna and Sonic. By the looks of it the rookies were winning as evidenced when Luna let out a loud cheer of excitement when she'd dunked the ball into their court, forcing Oliver to cover his ears.

"I'm glad they've been able to get along with everyone here," Mario commented, having wandered up next to Sonic. "I think we made the right choice in inviting those two in particular."

"I think so too," Sonic agreed. "Hell, with how arrogant Luna turned out to be, it was like I'd never left the team in the first place."

Mario laughed, amused. "That was a burn against yourself."

Sonic only shrugged. "Hey, you gotta be able to laugh at your flaws, right?"

"I suppose so..."

Sonic watched their teammates for a while longer, his eyes resting on his little brother who wasn't so little anymore. The amount of time he'd spent at the Smash Mansion not aging was making itself apparent now, as all of his friends were suddenly two years older then they had been when he'd left for the fourth tournament. It was honestly a shock when he found out that Amy was now the same age as him, as well as Tails now being a young teenager instead of the twelve year old he was when Sonic had left for the Smash Mansion.

Sonic blinked, coming to the sudden realization that he'd been with Mario for nearly two years going by his worlds time standards. It was two years, right? Since they got together near the beginning of the tournament... though the tournament hadn't been able to start for some time... and going off that train of thought, if time didn't flow in the void between dimensions, how come there was still a night and day and weeks? Shaking his head and chalking it up to Master Hand's magic, he tapped Mario on the arm. "Let's get outta here." he whispered.

"What?"

"It's our last night. I kinda wanna spend most of it with you."

"Alright," Mario glanced around, noticing Luigi with Daisy, Tails, Peach and Rosalina. "I think we can sneak away without anyone noticing we're gone."

Grabbing his hand, Sonic led Mario into the hotel. As Sonic locked the door behind them, Mario turned to glance out the window at the beautiful view of the beach and ocean.

"It's quite pretty here," he commented as Sonic suddenly spun him around, pressing their lips together and maneuvering them towards the conveniently placed bed that happened to be right there for them to conveniently fall onto. Mario suddenly found himself pinned to the mattress with Sonic straddling him, a spark of desire in his eyes and an almost seductive grin on his face.

"I've been waiting to kiss you all week," Sonic started in a low tone, swatting away Mario's hat and tangling his hands in the brown locks, causing Mario to shiver at the sensation. "An' since it's our last night an' we're completely alone... how 'bout we have some fun?"

Mario took a sharp breath in, before looking into Sonic's eyes and nodding. "Okay." he whispered.

/~/

"Hey Mar?"

Mario stirred, his eyes opening as he turned to gaze at his boyfriend next to him. _"Sì?"_

"If I happen to die in battle, I don't want you to mourn for me. Continue living your life an' find someone else who makes you happy."

Mario blinked, wondering where this had suddenly come from. "Sonic...?"

"I'm serious," Sonic stated, his voice lacking it's usual jokey tone. "If you sit around an' mourn for me, that's not living life to it's fullest."

"Are you planning on dying soon?" Mario questioned, sitting up and pulling Sonic into his chest to embrace him. Sonic snuggled against Mario, the fabric of his pajamas rubbing against the side of his face. Those stupid flannel pajamas that were still inappropriate for the time of year it was.

"No, I'm not," Sonic murmured. "But it's somethin' we need to think about. With how often we find ourselves in the line of fire... you just never know when somethin' might happen."

Mario had to admit that Sonic had a point. Even though they'd been on countless adventures and had pulled off reckless stunts more times than they could count and walked out relatively unscathed, one wrong move, a single slip-up could end either of them. As much as both of them hated to admit it, they weren't immortal. The amount of permanent scars that they'd accumulated was proof enough for that.

"Then if that's how you're looking at things, don't mourn for me if I die," Mario stated, Sonic nodding in agreement. "If you do, my ghost will come back and haunt you."

Sonic grinned, a small laugh escaping his lips. "Same here."

The two lapsed into silence, Mario holding onto Sonic a little tighter as he kissed his forehead. "I'm going to miss you," he finally sighed.

"Yeah... I'll miss ya too. But at least we'll be able to communicate with each other, an' I know Tails is still working on a way to get a transporter thingie working," he looked out towards the balcony and frowned. "I guess the party's over. I don't hear anyone outside anymore."

Sonic wiggled out of Mario's hold to look out the window at the beach below. After a moment, he chuckled. "Well, well, well. Our rookies are followin' in our footsteps, Mar."

"What do you mean?"

"Come look, quickly, before they leave."

Curious, Mario got out of bed and went to stand next to Sonic who was pointing at two figures down on the beach. Sure enough, Luna and Oliver were down there, Luna playfully shoving Oliver's shoulder as the two broke down into a fit of giggles.

"I thought somethin' was goin' on between them, but I didn't want to assume anythin' just in case I was wrong," Sonic noted. "But it looks like I was right after all."

"Seems to be that way..." Mario mused as Sonic grabbed his hand and led him towards the bed again. Getting comfortable, Mario grabbed a book to read while Sonic curled up next to him in order to try and get some sleep. A moment of silence passed before Sonic spoke again.

"When I get back to my world, I'm gonna see if I can legally adopt Tails. It was somethin' I was plannin' on doin' before I arrived at the Smash Mansion, but then the whole thing with the Lost Hex happened."

Mario lowered his book, considering Sonic's words. "That's very mature of you," he murmured.

"Well, I'm an adult now. Time to start actin' a little bit mature. An' that's my first order of business."

"Have you spoken about this with Tails at all?"

"No," Sonic answered flatly. "Normally I would, but I don't want him to get his hopes up only for them to be squashed in case somethin' goes wrong an' I can't adopt him."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Mario assured Sonic. "I don't see any reason why they wouldn't let you adopt him."

Sonic hummed, before closing his eyes and getting comfortable next to Mario. "Guess you're right..."

After realizing Sonic was drifting to sleep again, Mario's attention went back to his book. After a few minutes however Mario lowered the book again, contemplating something.

 _"Ti amo,"_ he whispered, bracing himself for Sonic's response. When he didn't receive one, he assumed Sonic had managed to fall asleep.

In reality though, Sonic had heard what Mario had said, and thanks to his time spent in Spagonia during his Werehog crisis he'd picked up on some Italian phrases thanks to it being one of the main languages spoken there. It was that reason why Sonic didn't need a translator to know that Mario had told him that he loved him in Italian.

If only he could work up enough nerve to say it back to him.

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **TheGameNguyener:** Heh, yeah, poor Sonic. For a multitude of reasons really, but Crazy Orders is never fun to go through. But hey, at least it's more fun than Smash Tour! Thanks for staying with this story so long, only one chapter to go! Thank you for the review!

 **itanimulli:** You didn't annoy me in the slightest with your questions. I like it when I get to discuss my headcanons with my readers! There were several different ways I could have portrayed Sonic and Mario's relationship, but in the end I felt that competitive was the right way to go, as it keeps their rivalry alive and in my opinion it's vital for them to still have that with each other. That's what their entire friendship was based on, and for that to disappear just because they're in a relationship just didn't feel right to me. Besides, it keeps them fun to write about as well! Thank you for the review!

 **Mrs. Needlemouse:** Well thank you very much for the support! It's been fun for me too, and I hope this chapter and the next are satisfactory enough for everyone! XD Thank you for the review!

 **Cool Guy:** Hey, you're back! If I recall correctly, you've been around since the beginning as well, haven't you? Time sure does go by quickly... As for Sonic and Mario, they sure have changed since the beginning of the story! Admittedly, Sonic got more character development than Mario did, but hopefully I did an okay job with Mario's character. Thank you for the review!

* * *

 **AN: The story mode for Rio 2016 was supposed to be more integrated into the plot than it actually ended up being. My original plan when writing this was to write a full on adaptation from the viewpoints of Luna and Oliver, while this story detailed what Mario and Sonic were doing while their rookies were out winning gold medals and training. That plan completely fell through the cracks however, and it saddens me because Luna and Oliver are my favourite OC's that I've ever created and the fact that they lost their story because I couldn't focus on writing it really sucks. Maybe one day I'll be able to tell their story though.  
**

 **On an even more depressing note, we only have one chapter left! Where did the time go, didn't I just upload the first chapter of this yesterday and proceed to have a nervous breakdown because I didn't know how it would be received? It's been a journey, that's for sure, and I hope you're all ready to finish it with me. I'll see you all next week. :)  
**

 **~Steel**


	40. Final Goodbye

**AN: Let's finish this journey together, guys. :)**

* * *

 _~Chapter Forty: Final Goodbye~_

Sonic was finding it hard to sleep. He kept moving around, trying to get comfortable, but eventually he gave up and sat up while Mario slumbered next to him peacefully. At least he wasn't suffering from insomnia like Sonic was.

Sighing, Sonic moved the covers aside and got out of bed, heading out onto the balcony instead. The cool night air ruffled his quills as he stared up into the sky above, a few stars twinkling above the city. He didn't know why, but something about the stars always calmed him down, even when he was a mere child. He remembered when he was younger he used to lay outside for hours with Tails pointing out constellations. A pang hit his heart as he realized they hadn't done that in years. Sonic suspected it was because the two of them had gotten older and had more pressing matters at hand. Sure, they still did when they were children, but the older they got the more serious they realized the problem was. They had no time for childish games anymore.

Inside Mario stirred, heavy eyelids opening and glancing around once he realized Sonic was no longer next to him. When he found him out on the balcony, his heart sunk as he had a pretty good idea of why he was out there. After a few moments he decided to join Sonic out on the balcony, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Pretty night," Mario murmured, while Sonic nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah..."

"Can't sleep?"

"Nope."

Mario gave Sonic a curious side-glance. "Are you going to answer any of my questions with more than one word?"

Sonic let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm just thinkin'. Of back when I was a kid an' life didn't matter that much. Sure, I knew the world was in danger, but I don't think the reality of the situation hit me until I was older."

"That's normal though. Let me guess, you were around fourteen when you realized the world kind of sucked? That's the age I was."

"Thirteen, actually. Shortly after my eyes transitioned and I'd just learned how to speak again. It was the battle against Chaos an'... the sheer amount of destruction that happened was overwhelming. It was a real eye-opener, for all of us I think."

"I think we can both agree that being adults isn't very fun."

"It's really not," Sonic sighed, quieting for a moment before remembering something. "I did take your question into consideration though."

"What question?"

"You asked me what I'd want to do if I had a normal life an' if Eggman wasn't a threat. I think I'd want to be a musician."

Mario smiled. "You like playing the guitar that much?"

"Yeah, an' since I've been gettin' better at it, I feel like that's the life I could have led if things were a little different."

"Have you ever thought of writing your own music?" Mario questioned, while Sonic nodded.

"Yeah, I've considered it. The guitar riffs I've got down, but actually tryin' to come up with lyrics is difficult. I just can't seem to find my muse."

"You'll find it eventually," Mario tried to assure Sonic. A mischievous smirk crossed his face as he added, "And then maybe you could join a boy band."

"I'd rather Egghead be my father than join a boy band," Sonic replied dryly, shooting a glare at Mario. "Now, I wouldn't be opposed to being in a band, but a boy band? Seriously Mar? You know I hate that kind of music!"

"I _was_ just joking," Mario pointed out, amused by Sonic's disdain. Sonic chuckled, giving Mario a grin.

"I know you were."

The two lapsed into silence once again as they stared up into the night sky above, Sonic eventually sighing.

"I guess we should go back to bed an' try to get some sleep," he mumbled. "I really don't wanna sleep though."

Mario nodded, looking back into the bedroom. He really didn't want to sleep either, and suddenly an idea struck him and he immediately dragged Sonic back into the room, Sonic blinking for a brief moment as Mario started pulling the sheets off of the bed, before it clicked in his brain what he was doing.

"Let's not sleep then," Mario said, tossing Sonic a handful of sheets. Laughing, Sonic untangled the blankets, a wide grin on his face as he realized that the stupid idea he'd had back in Vancouver had somehow become their tradition.

"Yeah, let's not sleep then."

/~/

At some point both of them had fallen asleep in the blanket fort, and neither one of them wanted to wake up in the morning. Even with the alarm buzzing they remained still, arms wrapped around each other and foreheads pressed together. Eventually it was Sonic who sighed, breaking free and facing the reality of the situation.

"They'll be waitin' for us," he said in a low tone. "So we should probably get ready to go."

Even though Mario and Sonic knew their friends and family were waiting for them outside and were probably eager to head back to their homeworlds, they still purposely took a long time getting themselves ready and packing the last of their things into their bags. They couldn't drag it out forever though, and eventually headed out the door of the hotel hand-in-hand.

The teleporters came into view, and along with them the faces of their friends and family who were waiting for them. Luigi, Peach and Daisy gazed at Mario sadly, while Tails kept himself a respectable distance away. Everyone could sense that Mario and Sonic needed some time to say goodbye. The villains didn't seem to care however, muttering to each other as Mario and Sonic eyed them in suspicion.

"They still have their communicator," Sonic muttered. "So just be careful, 'kay?"

"Same goes for you," Mario whispered back, pulling Sonic into a hug. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

Leaning up Sonic brought his lips to Mario's in a final kiss, before they broke and Mario sighed, picking up his bags. As he began to walk towards the teleporter, Sonic felt a twinge in his heart and called out to Mario.

"Mar, wait!"

Mario stopped, turning towards Sonic who closed the distance between them and hesitated for a moment, before leaning up to whisper something in his ear.

"...I love you too."

Mario looked at Sonic in shock, blinking multiple times wondering if he'd heard him correctly. "Sonic...?"

"An' I'm not sayin' it again, so consider yourself lucky!" Sonic added, a faint smirk on his face.

"So you knew what I said," Mario realized, impressed. "How?"

"I picked up on some Italian in Spagonia."

Mario half-smiled, bringing Sonic into another hug.

"I hate to break you two up," the Mii awkwardly said from her control panel. "But the Mushroom Kingdom teleporter is ready."

"Right," Sonic murmured as they broke apart, composing themselves. "So listen... if you happen to get plastered again, you better send me pictures or video or somethin'."

"I can assure you that's not going to happen ever again," Mario replied rather flatly, folding his arms. "I've learned my lesson."

"That's too bad," Sonic laughed. He quickly returned to being serious however, and his eyes flicked to the teleporter. "You better go. The Mushroom Kingdom needs you."

"And your world needs you," Mario replied, picking up his bags and hesitating. "Take care of yourself. I'll talk to you later."

"Countin' on it!" Sonic called back, keeping a poker face as Mario entered the capsule alongside everyone else. As the machine began to whir, Mario gave Sonic one final wave, Sonic raising a hand to return the gesture. A flash of light later and they were gone, separated from each other. Sonic's face crumpled slightly but he shook his head and reached into his quills, pulling out Mario's coin and holding it close to him. Tails gazed up at his big brother, concern etched on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Sonic chuckled, ruffling Tails' bangs. "Yeah, I'm fine buddy. Sure, it stings that we're separated, an' sure, we'll never be able to live in the same dimension 'cause there's always gonna be threats... but that just makes those few moments we actually get to spend together all the sweeter in the end. So I'm fine, an' I'm always gonna be fine."

Tails blinked, impressed by Sonic's outlook. He hadn't expected Sonic to keep a level head about the situation in the slightest, but the way he was handling it proved that he was a lot more mature than most gave him credit for.

The Mii announced that the teleporter to their world was ready, and as they walked in Sonic kept his grip tight on Mario's coin. They'd keep in contact through these magic infused items, they'd most likely be invited back to Doppel to participate in the next Olympics, and there was always the chance that Master Hand and Crazy Hand would hold another Smash tournament. With that in mind Sonic had no time to be sad, as he knew that they would most definitely see each other again.

 _~End~_

* * *

 ** _Replies_**

 **breath20k:** Yeah, I decided to have Mario speak in his native tongue, especially for something as crucial as a love confession. Thank you for the review!

 **MikySP:** I'm not planning on writing a Smash Bros. fic with OC's, sorry! Thank you for the review!

 **TheGameNguyener:** Thank you so much! I attempted to tie everything into a single canon, and while difficult I think I succeeded? And while I do love writing these two together, as the story progressed it got increasingly difficult to write their interactions, so I'm glad that it seemingly turned out well. Thank you for the review!

 **itanimulli:** I like portraying Sonic as having a more serious side. It's something that is sort of there in a few games (Sonic Lost World comes to mind), and I really wanted to explore that side of him a bit more. As for another Smash fic... I want to see if there's going to be another Smash game first before I make any plans. I have an idea in my head for a large scale Smash fic, but I need to know if more fighters are joining the roster first. Thank you for the review!

 **The Reviewer 2.0:** Thank you, so much. I did indeed put quite a bit of effort into this, maybe not at the beginning, but after receiving such positive feedback I began to take this a bit more seriously, and it prompted me to fix up a few earlier chapters. I'm glad you thought it felt almost real, as that is what I was going for. Love takes time, especially in the case of these two as they had a whole history to work out before they could get to where they are now at the end of the fic. As for a sequel, I admit that I would like to explore their relationship a bit more. It all depends on if there will be another Smash game, another Olympics game, and what happens in Super Mario Odyssey and Sonic Forces though. As for marriage and adopting a child though... it's not something I see in the future for them. Unless Bowser and Eggman stopped being a threat and they found a way to live in the same dimension. Thank you for the review!

 **Cool Guy:** Aw, thank you so much! It's going to be strange having nothing to update on Wednesday's, and no, it wasn't easy keeping a regular update schedule! Several times I thought I wasn't going to make the update, but I surprised myself by managing to do it! Thank you so much for the review!

* * *

 **AN: Thank you all so much for reading this story. When I posted this back in September, I had no idea what the response to it would be. The fact that so many people have read and enjoyed this is honestly shocking. Considering I thought that I'd only gain a couple of readers, the fact that this somehow gained 23 follows and favourites, almost 100 reviews, and the view counter itself at over 12,500 is incredible. I don't know what I did, but I must've been doing something right for people to continue coming back to this story for 40 weeks.  
**

 **I will continue to reply to every review I get on this story. For users, I'll reply to you through the PM's, and for guests I'll respond to you in the actual review section. Expect longer responses than you'd get at the end of chapters, as depending on what you say I may ramble on a little bit. Kind of like what I'm doing right now in a sense.  
**

 **I will admit, after writing these two for so long, I've grown a bit more fond of the pairing. I wouldn't be opposed to writing more stories about these two, whether canon to this or not. I mean, I've technically already started with _Simply Captivating_ , but that was more of a dare my friend gave me instead of something I would have normally written on my own. I don't know if this pairing will be the next thing I write as I'd like to take a break from romance and focus on something else, but who knows? Maybe I'll have a change of heart. I also don't know when I'll publish my next project, due to uncertainty of what it will be and also just taking a break and relaxing, instead of taking notes every time I play a game in case I need the information for later.  
**

 **I guess that's all I really have to say to you guys. I sincerely hope that some of you will join me in the next large project I decide to take on, and thank you once again for reading.**

 **~Steel**

 **P.S: And hey, if you liked this story, check out it's sequel _Forgotten Memories!_**


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